NNJDSA Petition: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/abortion-on-demand-without-apology-to-fight-back-we-need-working-class-organization
The leaked draft of the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization by the illegitimate Supreme Court paints a bleak picture for the future of reproductive rights in America. As socialists we not only condemn this but are prepared to fight tooth and nail against the upcoming overturn of Roe v. Wade.
This decision was written by the fascist Samuel Alito and concurred by a simple majority of Supreme Court Justices, selected by multiple Republican Presidents that did not win their presidential elections, and several of whom were confirmed by a simple majority of Republican senators that represent a smaller section of the American population. We are living under minority rule, with little to no opposition by the Democratic party. While abortion access continues to be available in New Jersey, we are not without risk of this and other human rights from being taken away at any moment.
Who suffers from Roe being overturned? The working class. Who else suffers? Children who are unwanted or from families that can’t adequately feed and care for them. Millions of children were placed back in poverty after the Child Tax Credit expired, and with no new stimulus check in sight, families will be forced to continue stretching themselves even further to make ends meet. This is the inhumanity the right-wing wants us living in.
These abortion bans are part of a 40 year orchestrated attack by the capitalist class, led by the Republican Party and the religious right, on the working class and our healthcare. Thirteen states have laws on the books prepared for the minute Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court to begin making abortion illegal in their states, with more expected to follow. This sets a dangerous precedent for other landmark cases, such as those which protect gay marriage and against anti-sodomy laws, which have historically been used to criminalize LGBTQ+ people. There will be attempts at restricting contraception once the doors for a post-Roe America are opened, making things even more dire.
This attack on Roe is an attack on all of us. It continues to perpetuate the patriarchal idea that men, and only men, can determine who has control over their bodies and that men, and only men, can determine when to have children. This is not a fringe idea for the right-wing, it’s perpetuated into its elected leaders and even the minds of Supreme Court justices like Amy Coney Barrett who was a “handmaiden” in the People of Praise cult. They wish to force upon others the idea of the nuclear family as sacrosanct and headed by the “strong man” father figure, a nostalgic return to the fantasy of the pre-60’s era.
The capitalist class has made it clear they will avoid any and all restrictions on abortion for when they need it, while the rest of us in the working class are destined to suffer. This decision like the abortion ban in Texas will hurt working class women, women of color, queer people, and their families and communities faced with the burden of forced pregnances and births. We must continue to fight for a system where the rich and powerful are no longer legislating peoples’ bodies, and where reproductive care and abortions are available to all.
The North New Jersey Democratic Socialists of America will continue to fight for working people seeking access to abortion, an essential piece of healthcare for working people to keep control over their reproductive rights.
Our demands are clear: FREE ABORTION. ON DEMAND. WITHOUT APOLOGY. NO EXCEPTIONS.
If you can, please donate to the New Jersey Abortion Access Fund locally and the Abortion Access Fund nationally, which provides financial assistance to those seeking abortions.