National Director of Social Advocacy, Orlando Sanchez
Committee of Social Advocacy (COSA)
WE’RE OUTRAGED, AND YOU SHOULD BE TOO.
Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. unequivocally condemns the decision of the Supreme Court to repeal Roe Vs. Wade. This regression in history is unacceptable. There have been no attempts to establish a federal guarantee of universal healthcare, child care, free higher education, or maternity leave yet the Supreme Court’s decision will make the lives of our mothers, sisters, daughters, etc even more difficult. We must Organize. Protest. Act. Vote to remove outdated and regressive politicians or they will continue to decide crucible health decisions for you to your detriment.
We cannot emphasize enough the urgency of this moment and the dire threat this presents to human rights, women of color, and marginalized communities that will suffer the most from this Supreme Court ruling. Over 80% of Americans believe abortion should be legal. The recent shift in Supreme Court interpretation is due to its new three Justices who expressed they would not challenge Roe vs Wade to obtain their positions on the court.
What does the end of Roe v. Wade look like in communities? The legality of abortions has been left up to each individual state. There are 26 states that would likely move quickly to ban abortions, with at least 12 of them having “trigger laws” that could ban abortions immediately after a Supreme Court decision. The impact would be widespread, with nearly half of women of reproductive age (18-49) in the United States — more than 36 million women, and even more people who can become pregnant — likely to lose access to abortions. This decision gravely impacts Black, Latina, Indigenous, undocumented, disabled, low-income, trans communities, and other marginalized communities who already face steep barriers to healthcare. Our communities will suffer the hardest.
Now, other rights are coming into question, including but not limited to: the right to interracial marriage, the right to same-sex marriage, the right to purchase and use contraceptives, and the right for same-sex adults to engage in same-sex activity.
The Brothers of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. will forever respect, stand for, and defend the right for a woman to have full autonomy over their bodies and full authority over their own health. The right to an abortion is healthcare, and our communities cannot afford to lose this human right. Please see the following toolkit to learn how you can get involved:
Find out if abortion is legal and/or accessible where you live:
Local abortion funds provide all kinds of reproductive care from contraceptives, doula services, to abortions. They can always use more volunteers and donations.
Local abortion funds are also the most knowledgeable on what kind of help is needed on the ground in your community. So if you want to get more deeply involved, contact them first.
The other reality is abortions will not stop if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Instead, millions of pregnant women will be forced to travel thousands of miles, and spend hundreds of dollars, to get an abortion. This would create further health inequities, with people of higher socioeconomic status able to access abortions while everyone else (predominately low-income women of color) gets shut out. Americans who live in states where abortions remain legal are not safe. Abortion clinics in these states are already understaffed and underresourced. This will only be exasperated by the many people coming from other states seeking treatment, making it more difficult for locals to get reproductive care. Sadly, many would be forced to resort to dangerous illegal abortions outside the safety of our healthcare system. In 1965, at least one-sixth of all pregnancy-related deaths were caused by illegal abortions (doctors suspect the true numbers to be much higher). No person should have to weigh the aforementioned risks of being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy.
The devastating impact of outlawing abortions would not be limited to just healthcare. In parts of the country where abortion has been made almost illegal, we have seen a dystopia where women of color are targeted with increased surveillance and incarceration over non-abortion health complications such as miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies. Recently, an Indigenous woman named Brittany Poolaw was convicted and jailed for manslaughter over a miscarriage in Oklahoma after going to the hospital seeking treatment, and a Latina woman named Lizelle Herrera was charged with murder in Texas after being accused of self-induced abortion. Black women already face the highest risk for pregnancy complications and pregnancy loss due to racism and systemic inequality in healthcare. Making abortions illegal would also make Black women and other women of color the most vulnerable to needless criminal prosecution, even when they do not have abortions.
