While the attack on reproductive rights has been long underway, Texas Bill SB 8 together with Mississippi’s 15-week ban have highlighted that the struggle for abortion rights is deeply intertwined with the class struggle. SB 8, which the Supreme Court has repeatedly refused to overturn, has forced numerous abortion providers to close, and deprived the vast majority of working class Texans access to abortions. The law, with its $10,000 bounty for abortions has had a profound chilling effect and will be copied by dozens of states across the US. This is a direct attack on reproductive autonomy, with the greatest impacts on working class women, women of color, and trans people. Roe v Wade is no longer enough to protect abortion rights, and is threatened to be overturned in upcoming Supreme Court cases.
It is clear that we cannot rely on the judicial system to uphold reproductive justice. Roe v Wade was won by the mass movement of thousands of women in the streets, demanding that which they deserve. History has demonstrated time and again that progressive legislation is only won through mass struggle. Now, with constant attacks on Roe v Wade, we demand the passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act to legalize abortion once and for all. But the Democratic Party will only take action to the extent they are compelled to—it is up to us to re-energize the militant women’s movement in the U.S. If we want to see legalized abortion during our lifetimes, it is crucial that we organize at the grassroots level to expose the hypocrisies of the right wing anti-abortion forces we face.
And the fight cannot stop there! We need a healthcare system that puts patients first, a government that prioritizes the needs of its people over the needs of corporations, a whole new system that serves the majority—the working class. We must continue to fight for women’s liberation, which can only come with socialism!
