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OPINION: WE WILL NOT GO BACK!

On this, the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I am once again dismayed. No! I am appalled that we have been taken back to a time when women were not in a position to control their own lives. I am old enough to remember being unable to get credit, buy a car or make healthcare decisions without my husband’s approval; in effect, women were assumed to be unable to understand or perform these tasks. And forget about a professional career! Women were strongly discouraged from pursuing “men’s work”. Physician, lawyer, architect, business owner- those and others were too demanding for the little woman! Strangely enough, we were certainly capable of running a household, budgeting our “grocery money” and raising and educating children. But, truth be told, this attitude was really all about power and control. 'Keep 'em barefoot and pregnant' was hot hyperbole. WE WILL NOT GO BACK!


“Keep ‘em barefoot and pregnant” was not hyperbole.

When Roe was overturned, the door was opened to restricting or eliminating other personal freedoms. The right to privacy is central to our freedom, yet the Roe decision negates that freedom in regards to reproduction. What will be next? Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that even the concept of the privacy of our own bedroom should be reconsidered. Could we also lose the right to contraception? The right to same-sex marriage? The right to express our sexual identity? WE WILL NOT GO BACK!


The fundamental issue here is the right to personal freedom and the concept of choosing how to live one’s life. The Supreme Court’s decision in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) helped to establish that privacy is a constitutional right. Lawrence v. Texas (2003) established that the majority may not use the power of the State to enforce their views regarding homosexual conduct on the whole of society via criminal law. Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Are these Supreme Court precedents at risk?? WE WILL NOT GO BACK!


What can we do?

We must put all politicians at every level of government on notice.

We will not sit back and allow them to roll back our freedoms, threaten our families or compromise our futures! Call, write and email your elected representatives until they recognize that they work for us, the people, and that their jobs depend on our votes. They MUST protect our personal freedoms by keeping government regulations off our bodies and out of our bedrooms. They MUST support working families by enforcing equal pay laws and addressing stagnant wages. They MUST look to the future without spreading hate, lies, fear and division. We have a voice. We have power. We will hold our politicians accountable.

WE WILL NOT GO BACK!


Carsie Evans

Anniston, AL

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