The United States Supreme Court has overturned its original landmark ruling of Roe v. Wade after 50 years. Essentially, this means that the right to choose to have an abortion is no longer protected by the federal government. Instead, the Supreme Court has given the power back to the states. Many states have “trigger laws,” which are laws that were designed to take effect automatically after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Many of these laws have gone into effect or are awaiting official action, making abortion illegal in many states. In his concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that he believes SCOTUS should also reconsider previous rulings such as the legality of contraception and gay marriage next.

We are in an era where our federal government allows one of the richest men in the world to develop and distribute self-driving vehicles that are entrusted with making decisions that directly affect human lives both within and outside of itself. However, a woman cannot decide what she gets to do with her own body, regardless of circumstance. A machine can choose the fate of lives, but a human being cannot.

This is a huge problem. This is not progression; this is regression. This country has overturned a human right that was guaranteed and protected by the federal government of the United States for half a century. Roe v. Wade does not just protect a woman’s right to choose; it’s also a protection of health and privacy. Overturning Roe v. Wade will neither stop nor decrease abortions, but rather severely restrict access to reproductive healthcare and safe abortions, making those options only available to those with financial and social means.

According to a survey by PBS NewsHour in 2021, 64% of Americans did not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned, meaning the minority opinion is now the governing one in the United States.

Here is the irony: this country, built on freedom from religious persecution, is now using religious persecution to restrict a long-standing freedom. The fight against Roe v. Wade is supported by a majority of modern American Christians. Christofascist politicians are forcing their beliefs into the government and then using those beliefs to pass legislation, which is a direct violation of the separation of church and state.

According to the PBS study, “opposition was strongest among Trump voters, people who didn’t graduate from college and Americans age 75 or older, while notable supporters of abortion rights included seven out of 10 women in both small cities and suburban communities.”

In America, women are still being treated like second-class citizens. A woman’s right to self-volition and bodily autonomy shouldn’t even be an issue in this country. The so-called “freest nation on earth” is trying to take away women’s rights to control what they can and cannot do with their own bodies, and instead is leaving it up to state representatives to decide for them. That is not fair. That is not free. That is not America.

The Grand Old Party is only concerned with protecting a fetus until it no longer is one. If they expect all women to give birth, they should then focus on funding healthcare, education, putting legislation in place to protect mothers and hold fathers accountable, fixing the foster care system and voting to expedite the stocking of shelves with baby formula. The GOP only cares about kids before they’re born and when they become eligible for military service.

We must make our voices heard. We must fight against the stripping of women’s rights to healthcare, privacy and bodily autonomy. The overturning of Roe v. Wade is only the beginning. Americans cannot allow conservative lawmakers who represent the minority of Americans to push this country into some kind of Christofascist theocracy. The representatives that people begged to fight for these kinds of issues have failed, but oppression cannot be allowed to win. If you aren’t registered to vote already, do so now and join in the fight against tyranny.