To Be a Woman

TRIGGER WARNING: ABORTION, RAPE

Today, I sit here with less rights than what I had when I was born. Today, I sit here while people celebrate the day this country got away with colonizing, murdering, and claiming land that wasn't their's and I am left to wonder what rights I, as a black woman, actually have in this country.

We all know that Roe vs. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court a couple of weeks ago and the fallout has been overwhelming. While I have posted about the decision on my various social media platforms, I have yet to take the time to sit down and form a well thought out opinion on the matter -- until now.

You see, when decisions like this directly affect you as an individual, it can be hard to grasp. It can be hard to understand how we got here. It can be hard to see the outcry. I can remember during the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020, a lot of black people were feeling overwhelmed and traumatized by people sharing their stories, seeing people who look like them being murdered, or being arrested for exercising their right to protest -- it is no different being a woman.

©Zuma Press/Alamy

The overturn, understandably, caused people to speak about the topic. Since the decision was made, I have seen a plethora of stories where women talk about how their pregnancy almost killed them and without their right to abortion, they would be dead. I have read numerous Instagram posts with pregnant women being in fear of their life because their baby is dead inside of their uterus but they now can't get an abortion (based on what state they live in). They will be forced to give birth to a dead child or die from sepsis. This is the reality of being a woman in America. These are the things I have to think about if I desire to be pregnant in the future.

I often speak about my experiences as a black woman because it is such a unique identity. Especially right now. To be honest, if it's not being black, it's being a woman. And just when you think you're done doing those two, you have to be a Black Woman. This does not include any other minority groups either. We know for a fact, that Black women will see the effect of this Supreme Court decision the most. We are already 3-4x more likely to die in childbirth because of racism and it will get worse now that we can't abort pregnancies if need be.

The statistics tell us that 1 in 6 women have been raped here in America. If a man is willing to disrespect a woman in this manner, do you think he will have the decency to put on a condom? Absolutely not. There are women and girls of all ages that become pregnant from sexual violence and now (depending on their residence), they will be forced to carry that fetus to term.

To be fair, a woman has a right to an abortion regardless of her reasoning. She doesn't need to be on the verge of death nor does she need a traumatic story along with it. The bodies of women are not to be policed by men who can't even handle a period cramp.

Women were given the burden of bearing children in this life but it does not mean we have to exercise that burden if we don't want to. Not to mention that if we do give birth, someone could shoot and kill them just for going to school. Nothing makes sense anymore and it is tiring to see.

So, I'll end this by saying make sure you vote in November. Happy Independence Day to all the straight white males out there because they are who this country is for. Oh... and Uncle Tom Clarence Thomas, I hope you have an awful day.*

*Petition to Impeach Clarence Thomas: https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/expand-the-supreme-court-save-abortion-rights