It’s tempting to blame rightwing evangelicals for what happened last week – but big business also benefits from our loss of autonomy
I found out about Dobbs, the supreme court’s recent decision that overturned Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey, in a room full of Black women in Boston. One interrupted a conference panel discussion and made the announcement. Gasps, groans, and murmurs followed. I rushed outside and wept briefly on the phone while breaking the news to loved ones. The state of affairs is profoundly unfair. Not only did the court erase the federal protection of abortion rights and access, but Justice Clarence Thomas additionally called for the review and overturning of other important court decisions that protect privacy rights, same-sex intercourse and same-sex marriage.
I wish I could say something like: “I never thought I would live to see the day this would happen.” But I’m honestly not sure. I spent a couple of years in college casually arguing against abortion. At the time, I had been unfortunately persuaded by social media accounts that Planned Parenthood was a eugenic plot to kill Black babies and destroy Black families. Though most abortion recipients are white women, Black women disproportionately terminate their pregnancies. Since I could easily point to ways that the state failed to protect poor, Black people and perpetuated violence, I initially found the arguments against abortion for the sake of protecting Black life convincing.
Derecka Purnell is a Guardian US columnist
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