Viewpoint: 'We will never stop fighting for complete reproductive justice'
This week, we saw a glimpse into a bleak future for abortion access in our state. Gov. Kevin Stitt has just signed a near-total abortion ban into law, further limiting care in a state with some of the nation’s cruelest abortion restrictions. At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has protected the legal right to abortion for half a century. While this news is nothing short of devastating, it’s no surprise. Extremists have long been attacking Oklahomans’ reproductive freedoms, including abortion care. We’ve been fighting back for years, and we won’t stop now.
Even before this week’s ban, patients in Oklahoma have long had to navigate medically unnecessary waiting periods, a parental consent and notification requirement for youths under 18, a ban on the use of telemedicine for medication abortion, biased and scientifically inaccurate mandated “counseling,” and almost no options for health insurance coverage. Due to these steep barriers, the legal right to abortion affirmed by Roe has never been enough to make abortion a real option for everyone. Financial burdens, red tape and stigma mean that too many people in our community are already grappling with a post-Roe reality.
As reproductive justice advocates, we work to support the people most impacted by these burdens, including young people, people of color, queer and transgender people, survivors of violence, people living in rural areas, and people with low to no income. Despite our calls to expand health care access, anti-abortion rights extremists continue to instead punish our community members who are already marginalized for simply trying to make personal medical decisions about their own bodies.
Abortion restrictions are dangerous not only to Oklahomans, but to our neighbors across state lines in need of care. Oklahoma has seen an influx of patients from Texas, and this week’s ban will mean that people across the Southeast will need to travel even farther to reach time-sensitive care — travel we know just isn’t always possible.
Now more than ever, it’s time to build a future, in Oklahoma and beyond, where everyone can access abortion care when and however they need it, without restrictions, stigma or fear of punishment. Abortion access is essential health care, but it’s also so much more — it’s a crucial component of financial stability, safety and freedom for our communities. Abortion care gives us the power to choose if, when and how we want to grow our families, and decriminalizing abortion is essential for our communities to thrive.
Every person and pregnancy is different — that’s why everyone needs access to care in the way that works for them. We’ll keep trying to fight back against bans in court, but we need a broader and bolder movement beyond the courtroom if we’re going to restore and expand abortion access. We need more Oklahomans to join us as we demand real action from our leaders and deliver resources where they’re needed — to abortion funds and independent clinics continuing to help our community members connect with the care they need. Together, we can fight back against abortion bans, reject stigma and misinformation, and provide our communities with accurate information to make decisions about their bodies that are best for them. No matter what the courts or politicians say, our priority right now remains the same: making sure people have access to the compassionate abortion care they deserve. We will never stop fighting for complete reproductive justice for everyone in Oklahoma.
Gabriela Cano is a member of the Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice, a statewide organization fighting for reproductive freedom for all people.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Viewpoint: Fight for abortion rights continues in Oklahoma, US
