*NOW IS THE TIME AND THIS IS THE HOUR FOR TRUTH*
An Open Letter to the Women's March and ALL Who Care About Women and Their Future
initiated by:
Mary Lou Greenberg, long time revolutionary communist and fighter for abortion rights
Merle Hoffman, Founder/President/CEO of Choices Women's Medical Center (Founded 1971)Author Intimate Wars, the Life and Times of the Woman who brought Abortion from the Back Alley into the Boardroom (2012)
Sunsara Taylor, co-host of the Revolution, Nothing Less Show, host of We Only Want the World, and leader of the 2014 and 2015 Abortion Rights Freedom Rides
The Texas Abortion Ban and the Supreme Court's decision to hear a case on December 1st that could overturn abortion protections nationally, do not mark a mere escalation of previous attacks, but a radical rupture that threatens fundamental rights and what we have commonly known as the rule of law.
The nightmare this will mean for women and for society must not be watered down. We must tell the truth of what the loss of abortion rights and reproductive justice really means.
It is positive that the Women's March has called nationwide mobilizations this Saturday, October 2nd and we urge every person who can participate to mobilize others.
At the same time, we strenuously object to the Women's March's attempt to control the creative expression of righteous rage by insisting that there be no coat-hangers or Handmaid's costumes at these marches.
The Women's March explains their ban on coat hangers this way:
“We do not want to accidentally reinforce the right-wing talking points that self-managed abortions are dangerous, scary and harmful.”
Do we really need to make the argument that when abortion is illegal—when the full power of the state is put behind preventing and punishing those who participate in abortion—it becomes unsafe for most women? Unsafe in that not all “self-managed” medication abortions work. Unsafe in that even when they do work, it is only up until about 10 weeks into pregnancy. Unsafe in that it could soon become illegal to receive abortion pills through the mail. Unsafe in that criminal elements who care nothing for women will seek to dominate this market, as they did before Roe. Unsafe in that anyone who helps a woman could be financially and socially ruined. Unsafe in that as abortion is increasingly criminalized and even more shamed, most women won’t know how to access the pill and will resort to even more desperate means—yes, hangers, but also drinking bleach, throwing themselves downstairs, and worse. Unsafe in that forcing women and girls and other pregnant people to live in fear and silence and shame, to have their dreams foreclosed by forced motherhood, to risk isolation and imprisonment, is... fundamentally unsafe.
Displaying the imagery of the coat hanger which was used by thousands of women to end unwanted pregnancies when there was no legal option is not reinforcing “right wing talking points,” it is telling the truth. Banning this expression is negating women's historic reality and potential future.
The Women's March explains their ban on Handmaid's Tale imagery this way:
“The use of Handmaid's Tale imagery to characterize the controlling of women’s reproduction has proliferated, primarily by white women across the country, since the show has gained popularity. This message continues to create more fragmentation, often around race and class, because it erases the fact that Black women, undocumented women, incarcerated women, poor women, and disabled women have always had their reproduction freedom controlled in this country. This is not a dystopian past or future.”
This contorted argument denies the essence of the Handmaid's warning, which is the essence of what is going on right now. We are not facing “more of the same” of what have been unacceptable restrictions on women's reproductive freedom, but a leap towards a 21st century program of white supremacy and misogyny, wrapped in the flag and a literal interpretation of the Bible.
This is why people have taken up the Handmaid's costumes as a powerful symbol.
It is a serious problem that all too many have allowed the escalating assault on reproductive freedom that has hit Black women, undocumented women, incarcerated women, poor women, and disabled women disproportionately hard.
If you want to take aim at those who have not merely “erased” this reality, but enforced it, start with those in both mainstream political parties who have kept the Hyde Amendment(that has cut Medicaid funding for poor women every single year since 1977!) as a law of the land.
Where is the call to end this now?
“Women's Lives are Human Lives!,” one of the strongest and earliest chants puts this into perspective: Women must not be reduced to mere vessels for procreation.
So, let us March with our bodies and our banners--let us tell and express the full truth this Saturday. Let this be the catalyst that unleashes sustained, mass refusal and political resistance of all in society who refuse to surrender and be turned back.
ABORTION ON DEMAND AND WITHOUT APOLOGY!
