This Has Always Been About One Thing: Control
Debbie Deland, President of Florida NOW said, “While we knew this decision was coming based upon the leak back in February, this was still a shock. Something so unwanted by the citizens, so final and finite, and so ultimately wrong, has now been handed down by the Supreme Court.”
“Roe v. Wade stood as precedent for nearly 50 years, as the cornerstone for bodily autonomy. While many states tried to rally against it, or pass laws that blatantly defied the right it bestowed, none of them ever succeeded because it was always set in stone, until now.”
“They say the argument begins and ends at the Constitution. That if our rights are not blatantly written down, or otherwise able to be inferred based upon the historical context, then it is not guaranteed and goes instead to the individual state. I instead ask how we can rely on a document written by white men, for white men, to the ultimate benefit of white men, that was ratified in 1788 when no one other than white men had any say in what the foundation of our country should ensure?”
“As long as there have been uteruses, there have been abortions. Even when humanity didn’t have the medical knowledge we now possess, we found a way out of unwanted pregnancies via herbal abortifacients or sometimes, more painful measures. Many groups, tribes, and societies have known how to and frequently did conduct and perform them, often in secrecy. A group of 9 people in our country, who are a majority of white men, who claim to be unbiased and apolitical, have released a very political decision that will impact millions, not just in our current time, but for generations to come.”
“We know the inevitable inane questions and statements the other side will pose: ‘What about the dissents? If you don’t like how your state deals with it, you can always move. What about adoption? Does the child’s life not matter? What about personal responsibility?’ and on and on and on. None of these people truly care about a potential life, nor the life of the pregnant person. This has always been about one thing and one thing only: control.”
“The power to control choice, to control women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and the power to control anyone who deviates from their concept of ‘normal’ or ‘traditional’. So am I upset? Am I angry? Of course. But this runs far deeper and in many more words than anger or sadness could express, this cuts to the core of all hope of what America could be, or could’ve been.”
“This is not, however, an admission of defeat or concession on my end. Florida NOW has always been, and will always be, an active rebellion against white supremacists’ control. The fight is not over, it has only just begun. We will make sure it is not a landslide in Florida to get rid of abortion, but a fierce battle with extraordinary numbers of opposition at every turn. We will support our like-minded friends in every corner of the United States. We will ensure that the majority is heard, and that safe and accessible abortion will soon again be the law of the land.”
Florida NOW is an intersectional grassroots organization that promotes feminist ideals, leads societal change, eliminates discrimination, and protects the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life.
