Choice prevails – Immie Pearson
Earlier this year there was global outrage and concern surrounding several US states attempts to ban abortion after six weeks, including Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah. Ordinary people to celebrities and world leaders spoke out against this heinous law, including Lady Gaga, who called it an “outrage” and said; “So there’s a higher penalty for doctors who perform these operations than for most rapists? This is a travesty…,”
Other celebrities who spoke out included ‘Captain American’ star Chris Evans, Barbara Streisand, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Chelsea Handler, as well as John Legend who wrote; “These statehouses are waging all-out war on women and their right to control their reproductive decisions. This is awful,”.
On top of this backlash, there were global demonstrations on response to this ‘heartbeat bill’ as well as many major film and tv production companies vowing to pull out of filming in these states, taking away million in potential income as a result. This included some of the most recognisable names out there; A representative for Kristen Wiig also confirmed that her upcoming Lionsgate comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, which she co-wrote and will star in alongside Annie Mumolo, was pulled out of the state following the bill’s signing.
It was a terrifying time for all women in these states and America in general, it was an attack against freedom and rights to bodily autonomy that was felt all around the world. However, as of yet none of these proposed bills have been passed. On Tuesday the 29th of October a federal court issued a decision in a challenge to Alabama’s near-total ban on abortion blocking the law from taking effect. The decision comes on the heels of similar rulings blocking abortion bans in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah.
This challenge to the ‘heartbeat bill’ was the work of the nonprofit organisation American Civil Liberties Union, who filed lawsuits and attempted to block seven of the proposed Abortion bans across America. When the bans were proposed the organsiation tweeted;
Politicians, listen closely: We have a constitutional right to abortion. If you try to ban it, we will see you in court.— ACLU (@ACLU) October 29, 2019
They followed through with this threat and they did not fail. None of the state abortion bans passed earlier this year will be permitted to take effect. Meaning abortion will remain legal in all of America’s 50 states.
While this is a massive success, the politicians of these states still hope that the balance of the Supreme Court has turned against abortion rights with enough votes to aggressively and systematically dismantle abortion access. But what the work of the ACLU can show all people is the power of speaking up and coming together. Had there been such global outrage and had ACLU not existed, women in America could live in a very different world.
So while there is no guarantee these politicians and certain groups will not keep pushing and try to pass new bans such as these in the future, there is a guarantee that, organisations such as ACLU will keep fighting and if people speak up when they see something they know is wrong, it can and does make a massive difference to the lives of millions.
As Martin Luther King Jr said “There comes a time where silence is a betrayal.” Never has that been a more relevant and poignant message than in the world’s current social and political climate, every day there are acts that violate human rights on a massive scale or impinge on individual freedom, and with the threat to the very planet increasing with global warming, now is the time to speak up and take action whenever you can. For if you can say something and don’t, it could be argued you are no better than those committing the act.
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