Stacey Olson.JPG
The Supreme Court overruled Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey on Friday.
I remember hearing the news so clearly, like a nightmare that you keep having no matter how many times you wake up in the middle of the night. I was sitting at my desk and a coworker came in and asked, “Did you hear, they overturned Roe?”
I’d hoped they were kidding but I knew it in my gut to be true. Of course, they overturned it. Of course, they disregarded the decades-long precedent that not only gave me the right to choose but the path for many other protections I and so many others hold dear. I had this pit in my stomach that kept gnawing at me, this inclination that this isn’t the end. Sure enough, further into the conversation, they mentioned that one of the justices called for a reevaluation of multiple precedents: The ones protecting gay marriage, contraception access and gay sex.
I didn’t want to admit that I saw this coming from a million miles away. Of course, this was coming. The American people witnessed the Supreme Court take measures before pulling the trigger: Fortifying their thrones, their fortress, knowing damn well that the American people would oppose.
All it took was the opinions of six people. Six people managed to compromise the Constitutional rights they swore to uphold and endanger the safety and wellbeing of the American people. “We the people of the United States” is a significant line in this nation’s history but we forget that not everyone was originally included as “the people.” That preamble did not keep in mind the protection of women, people of color and those within the queer community and it is beginning to show once again.
There are people in this country and people on that Court that see us as less than. How dare we demand the same protections as a corporate standard man? How dare we ask for choice, for access to contraceptives? How dare I, a queer woman, love who I love and make decisions over my own health?
For those who feel victorious, who feel like they won the war, do not underestimate the situation. This is far from over, this is the beginning of the end for many of us. They will come for what makes us who we are, anything that leads to opposition.
All of us should be scared because the Supreme Court just opened the floodgates and many of us are not ready for what is to come. If it’s not personal for you now, it will be soon.
For me, this has always been personal, because what else would it be? This is my life, my body, and no one should be able to control that. Not to mention that when– not if, but when– they come for gay marriage, gay sex and anything else they can sink their teeth into, it’ll be a war on any and all non-picket fence ideology and lifestyles.
I am a person. I had hoped that in 2022 I wouldn’t have to explain that. I am a person just like any other. I have hopes and dreams. I too was once a little girl who dreamed of her wedding day and having the chance to tell the world that I found the love of my life, to have a family when I chose to. I am a person.
But do you know what else I am? Angry. I am an angry woman who will scream as loud as I can until my throat bleeds to protect what I know to be true. That we the people are created equal and all of us don’t just deserve the same rights, but we are owed them.
Will you stand up with me? Will you let your voice be heard? Will you defend not just rights for yourself, but for us all? Because there’s nothing more American than that.
Kansas residents can register to vote by July 12 for the August 2 primaries.