By Polina Smith
The 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling was a landmark decision that recognized women’s autonomy in an incredibly meaningful way. It ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a woman’s choice to have an abortion, in any state, up to around 24 weeks of pregnancy. The ruling also sparked an ever-growing divide in American politics, with one side of people vehemently opposing the ruling and the other, supporting it.
The fact that now, in 2021, Roe v. Wade is being called into question with the possibility of being overturned is absurd and infuriating, to say the least. Texas Republicans have come up with a new strategy to ban abortions after 6 weeks as part of a larger plan to limit reproductive rights overall; another harrowing plan involves a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks. The Supreme Court will be reviewing the Mississippi case, and if the court decides to uphold this law, access to abortion in the South and Midwest will become extremely limited.
As we all know, when abortion is made illegal or inaccessible, abortions do not stop—instead people may become desperate and risk their health and safety pursuing illegal abortions, or try to scratch together enough money to travel to a safe abortion state, which many cannot afford. The fact that there is a 6-3 majority of conservative appointees on the court makes the potential for widespread abortion restriction very real. In the wake of these possible restrictions, our lives—and our rights—are at stake.
There are ways to fight against the destruction of abortion rights, and one of them is through art. Unlike any other medium, art can get to the heart of a matter and get to the heart of the viewer. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Abortion Access Force (AAF) is an organization that advocates for reproductive rights through comedy, culture and digital media.
Images courtesy of www.aaforce.org/shareables/
Abortion Action Force understands the impact art can have on abortion rights and utilizes art—often comedic, tongue-in-cheek art that simultaneously enrages the viewer and makes them laugh—to reach their audience and ultimately raise awareness. From uterus GIFs to images of puppies with sayings like “Hey Pence, Everyone Fucking Hates You,” the art AAF creates is powerful because it uses comedy, a connecting force, to drive the message home. It’s been said that art can transform stereotypes and influence cultural attitudes. If that’s true, AAF’s art is changing the game.
Eunice - Abortion AF activist puppet - is fierce in the fight for reproductive rights, showing up in skits, videos and protests. Image courtesy of www.aaforce.org/shareables/
In addition to raising awareness through art, AAF hosts ‘The Feminist Sleeper Cell Podcast’ where the hosts and guests discuss current events surrounding reproductive rights. In their recent episode “Mess-issippi,” hosts Moji Alawode-El and Lizz Winstead and guest Julie Rickelman go over the recent developments around abortion restrictions, including the threat from the Mississippi law as well as the senseless proposal in Texas that anyone who has gotten an abortion or anyone who has assisted another in getting an abortion could be sued by abortion opponents.
Julie Rickelman, senior litigation director for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in the podcast about the Mississippi law: “It is deeply alarming that the Supreme Court agreed to hear this case… The lower courts struck it down as unconstitutional and that is clearly correct.” Rickelman emphasizes the importance of recognizing how dangerous it is that the Supreme Court is even considering this case after nearly 50 years of Roe v. Wade being in place. The hosts ask Rickelman how this is even happening—if the lower courts struck the case down, it is confusing why the Supreme Court is even considering it—and Rickelman says, again, that the situation is deeply alarming and appears to be a “test case” from conservatives who essentially want to see how far they can get in cutting off abortion access and overturning Roe v. Wade.
There aren’t any real conclusions to come to yet, since SCOTUS hasn’t yet reviewed the case. It’s hard not to panic and feel like we’re regressing backwards in time, erasing all the progress we have made regarding abortion rights. Though the current situation is daunting, there are organizations and activists who relentlessly resist the conservative leaders infringing on our rights. According to Rickelman, the Center for Reproductive Rights is working on a bill called the “Women’s Health Protection Act” that would create additional federal protections to access abortion and hopefully counter the conservative agendas currently being pushed.
In the meantime, we can take a big, collective deep breath, stop doom-scrolling news sites, and raise awareness of the current threats to abortion access by supporting art and media created by AAF and other abortion rights activists. Check out the Shareables on the AAF website to explore some of their powerful and humorous art pieces - it’ll make you feel better!
Polina Smith is a Seismic Sisters writer.