Please don’t get this twisted. The fight to protect reproductive rights falls on all of us. It falls on men, women and the non-binary.
No doubt this war is yours if your body possesses the ability to have a baby. But if you love someone who does, then make no mistake. This war is yours, too.
Sticking your feet in the sand is akin to throwing the white flag, or worse, joining the other side.
Right now, however, I want to speak to the Latino men in the room.
Fathers. Brothers. Uncles. Vatos locos, y todo. You have a role, homie. You have a responsibility. It’s not good enough to be present for birthday parties, prom night and graduation. Little women in your life need your strength. Your power. Your vote.
And when you head to the ballot box, you should not merely take “abortion rights” into consideration as you choose your candidates. Right now, abortion rights is the issue to consider, the rest will always be there. No candidate on any ballot is offering solutions to crime, war, homelessness, rigged tax rates, recession, Covid-19, nor the rest of it.
These political blowhards, both Red and Blue, are just wasting our time and campaign donations. But don’t listen to me. Ask yourself: Beyond speaking points, what actionable solutions is your favorite candidate offering right now?
For now, abortion will be legal state by state, including in California. However, we may soon see a shortage of cash and resources in various parts of California, Lara Jiménez, executive director at California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, a statewide organization that advocates for reproductive rights, warned the Fresno Bee recently.
Keep in mind this campaign to end abortion rights in America will harm Brown and Black women the most. Approximately 70% of pregnancies by Black women and 57% by Hispanic women are unintended, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Well, when it comes to reproductive rights, an issue of personal freedom and freedom from control by the state, something can and must be done now. Any politician running for office is able to take a stand on this particular issue. It’s a black or white decision, no gray area.
Do you believe the government should tell a 17-year-old girl who just found out that she is pregnant that she must put dreams of college or military service or a career in the sciences aside because she and her boyfriend simply engaged in unprotected sex or the condom broke?
If so, good on you. I appreciate your ability to divorce emotion from logic.
But, please, let’s follow your morality and mentality all the way through. Are you willing to force the father in this scenario to quit school, get a job and help finance and raise that child until the age of 18? Will boy-father be forced to carry on half of the responsibilities that you so willingly thrust on a young mother? Why not? Afraid of ruining your little boy’s life? He has so much promise, you say? Why should he be punished for being in bed without a 50-cent condom?
There is little use in speaking to the moral or logically slippery folk among us.
But if you honestly see through this hypocrisy, you have a chance to gear up. Your words matter. Your vote matters. Your next move matters.
If you don’t want the government telling you how to cut your hair, when you can own a gun or who you may hang out with on Saturday night, then this is your fight. The government shouldn’t tell any man what do to with their time or body, right, homie?
This issue should be simple. If you possess reproductive organs, you should possess reproductive rights.