Helping Hands by Geoff Carter « The Pen in Hand Blog

Artwork by Michael DiMilo

By Geoff Carter

Since the recent—but not unexpected—Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe -v- Wade, American citizens have been scrambling to come to terms with the consequences and implications of this new and deeply disturbing ruling.

The nation is reeling in shock. After all, it’s the first time that the highest court has erased a Constitutional right in America. The Republicans have been nibbling away at the edges of voting rights for years, but overturning Roe -v- Wade is comparable to rescinding Second Amendment rights—a truly unthinkable breach of our freedoms for conservative thinkers. There’s been talk by Democrats of attempting to “codify” abortion rights through a federal mandate, but that presents a series of problematic Constitutional questions.

Since this right is no longer protected under federal law, it will be up to states to decide whether abortion will be allowed within their borders. It will still be legal in some, like California, New York, and Illinois, but others, like Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, had trigger laws in place that made abortion illegal immediately after Roe was overturned. As a result, clinics have already been closed in these states and women can no longer legally obtain abortions there—as much as they ever could in these places.

Other states, like Wisconsin, have antiquated abortion laws on the books that were superseded by Roe and never changed after the initial 1974 Supreme Court decision. While Wisconsin has already banned abortions, some of these other states are fighting to revise laws to make even limited versions of choice viable.

The upshot is probably going to be that some women are going to have to cross state borders to obtain a legal—and safe—abortion. Of course, some will be unable to afford travel expenses necessary to obtain this procedure, but those who can will be able to—for now—get the procedure.

In a strikingly immediate response to this dilemma, “free states” like Illinois and Minnesota have geared up for the expected upturn in cases coming down from Wisconsin, Missouri, and Iowa. They are ready, willing, and able to help their sisters in need. They have extended a helping hand.

Also recognizing the need for women to travel to get these medical procedures, California is working to pass the Abortion Practical Support Fund, which will help women defray the costs of travel, childcare, and lodging when traveling there to get their abortion. Aside from this, the Golden State is gearing up to welcome up to 1.4 million women from Arizona, Idaho, and other of their less-enlightened neighbors.

Thousands of individuals are offering transportation, lodging, and expense money to complete strangers so that they can have access to this procedure, even—in an uncertain patchwork of state laws—risking prosecution. Before the most recent fallout, a recently passed Texas law enabled any citizen to file a lawsuit against a woman seeking an abortion or anyone else—including an Uber driver, friend, family member, or medical professional—seeking to assist her. The plaintiff could receive up to ten thousand dollars in damages from the defendants, amounting to nothing short of a “bounty law” designed to intimidate anyone seeking an abortion. And now it’s a moot point—in Texas, but the law may still be in force for citizens helping women cross state borders for the procedure. Under this law, these helpers could still very well be prosecuted.

In the digital age, where social media searches, location data, call histories, and other data is eminently accessible, pro-choice organizations fear that this information might be accessed by states—like Texas—to help prosecute those helping the less fortunate access abortions, but this does not seem to be deterring those willing to help.

In short, citizens recognize the unfairness and impunity of the Supreme Court’s decision and are willing to put their own freedom on the line in order to ensure that every woman in this country has access to their reproductive rights.

And by all metrics, Dobbs decision to overturn Roe -v- Wade is unpopular one. A recent Pew Research Survey found that over 61% of those polled thought abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances while only 37% believed abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances. Yet the conservative SCOTUS, and many Republican-run states, have defied the will of the people they serve in delegitimizing and demonizing this human right. A minority of narrow-minded conservatives have permanently altered the landscape of personal freedoms in this country by denying millions of women the right to control their own bodies.

Despite the draconian state laws and regressive SCOTUS rulings, American citizens are taking steps—sometimes heroic steps—to ensure every citizen can still enjoy this right, but this should come as no surprise; this sort of activism is nothing new for US citizens. Tens of thousands of young people protested the Vietnam War; hundreds more joined the antebellum abolitionist movement and even helped runaway slaves on the road to freedom; BLM protestors—including Colin Kaepernick (who put his career on the line)—are on the front lines battling for racial equity and protesting police brutality.

Reproductive rights is not the only area where our minority-rule government and SCOTUS are woefully out of step. A majority of Americans—especially after the tragedies in Uvalde and Highland Park—want stronger gun laws. Even though Congress did pass a gun-law package recently, it did not address the legality of extended magazines or semi-automatic weapons, two of the areas most Americans would like to see reformed.

Since Congress has dragged its feet on climate change legislation—and while the SCOTUS made another ruling hobbling the EPA’s power to regulate polluters—American citizens have again stepped to the forefront. Electric car sales are at an all-time high; the residential solar power industry is skyrocketing, all as a result of the American conscience. While our institutions have been hijacked and are being held hostage by a minority of socially regressive and oligarchic mercenaries, the American people have continued to do the right thing. They are helping women in need, slowing climate change, advocating for equity, and campaigning for safer gun laws.

It might be counterintuitive to think that America, a republic based on democratic ideals where one person equals one vote, would be doing this despite the government, instead of being able to work with their elected representatives for individual freedoms, but the truth is the people are playing on a field tilted by corrupt political practices, powerful corporate interests, and demagoguery.

The truth is also that the people—left to their own devices, are doing a better job at making America a fair and equitable country than the government has done. They know what they want and what they need—personal reproductive freedoms, a safe and healthy planet, schools and parks safe from the threat of gunfire, and fairness for all citizens. And they’re willing to go above and beyond in order to get it.

It’s really not that much to ask for.