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Full Reproductive Rights for All People

Statement drafted by the SPUSA Women’s Commission and passed by the National Action Committee. October 1, 2021

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"We demand full support for the right to women to choose when, if and how to have children, including the right to free abortion on demand at any stage of pregancy, without interference or coercion. Clinics providing abortion services must have the full protection of the law."  Socialist Party USA Platform

 

The Socialist Party USA supports full reproductive rights for all people, including the right to choose abortion. Through decades of legal maneuvering and trickery, abortion has become effectively unobtainable for most people in the United States, robbing us of our basic right of bodily sovereignty. The hypocrisy of those who want to limit reproductive freedom is on full display, as they cry 'my body, my choice' when asked to take basic health measures during a pandemic; and claim to be against the government limiting personal freedom while supporting and legislating laws that force anyone who gets pregnant to carry the fetus to term. Liberals and conservatives alike have used abortion access as a wedge issue to galvanize their base while working in tandem to maintain our current oppressive, patriarchal, capitalist system.

Many restrictions on abortion force pregnancies to be carried to term after 6 weeks, before most people even know they are pregnant. The Texas restrictions have no exceptions for rape or incest. Using private citizens to enforce the law and enacting bounties is particularly barbaric and sets a dangerous precedent. But Texas is not alone, they are one of many states that have either shut most clinics down or made abortion restrictions so strict that they prevent most people from accessing this vital and necessary part of health care. Currently, many states have tripwire laws that will make abortion completely illegal if Roe vs Wade is overturned, all while the policies that prevent unwanted pregnancies are attacked and dismantled.

 

Reproductive rights are not only a gender issue, but also a class issue: as these restrictions are easy to get around for those with enough status and money. Our current government does not represent the rights of working people, it does what is necessary to maintain power for the chosen few while upholding the status quo. We may lose the reproductive freedoms we fought so hard for in the next few years, despite most Americans believing that abortion should be both safe and accessible. And make no mistake: these laws do NOT limit abortions; they simply limit safe abortions. Capitalism has failed to provide even the most basic human needs to the working class, it should come as no surprise that they have failed to protect our reproductive rights. And like most regressive policies, restricting access to safe and legal abortion will hurt the most marginalized most.

 

Currently, the future for reproductive rights in the United States looks bleak. With even our bodily sovereignty robed of us, what else can they take? But we cannot lose hope, we still have an opportunity to build a revolutionary movement that guarantees all basic human rights, as opposed to the current corporations and lobbying groups that have acted in the name of grassroots organizing. Even if you cannot get pregnant, I assure you this issue affects you and those you care about. Do not give into despair and anger, turn those emotions into action and change. There are many groups organizing to provide vital reproductive services, below are some resources that can help. The national day of action for Reproductive Rights is October 2nd, 2021 (find local events here). If you would like to organize for reproductive rights within the Socialist Party USA, consider joining or supporting the women's commission. This fight is not and will not be over until we achieve full liberation, we cannot win this without your help: please educate, agitate, and organize in any way you can.

 

Hotlines/Texlines/Support

  • Reprocare Healthline (1-833-226-7821) – Provides anonymous peer-based emotional support, medical information, and referrals to people having an abortion at home with pills.

  • All-Options (1-888-493-0092) – Offers full-spectrum free peer counseling to callers from anywhere in the US or Canada.

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Find an abortion clinic near you

Make sure to call ahead to ensure they are open, what your options are, what the laws require in your area. Be wary of 'pregnancy crisis centers', who pretend to be doctors but exist to lie to, use emotional manipulation and abuse, to threaten or trick pregnant people into carrying unwanted pregnancies to term by any means. Don't be afraid to request a free escort to your appointment.

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Facts about abortion

 

Join or reach out to the SP-USA Women's Commission at spusa.womenscommission@gmail.com

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