The 60% of the women who have access to abortion in the country are minorities, that is why they are the ones who will most resent the abortion ban, if the Supreme Court of the United States eliminates the historic ruling Roe vs. Wade of 1973 who legalized it throughout the country.
The Court’s decision, a draft of which was leaked last week, is expected to immediately eliminate abortions in at least 21 state.
During the videoconference “The impact of a post-Roe world on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women”, organized by Ethnic Media Services, several panelists discussed the repercussions of the Supreme Court’s decision.
California Congresswoman Judy Chu said that abortion is a right and a personal decision that no one other than the pregnant woman and her doctor should make.
“One in four women in the United States have had an abortion during her lifetime, including my colleague, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of the State of Washington”.
Congresswoman Chu recalled that Jayapal was the first woman from southern Asia elected to Congress.
“She told her story of how, after an extremely difficult first pregnancy, with a child who was born prematurely and had significant medical needs, she discovered that she was pregnant again, after even though she was on birth control.
“She went to her doctor, who told her that there was no guarantee that she would not face another extremely difficult pregnancy that would endanger her life. And she just knew that she couldn’t go through with it. But as a new immigrant to the United States, abortion was extremely stigmatized in her community. She didn’t even tell her own mother for fear of the stigma and the shame it would bring her.”
It wasn’t until a few years ago that she told the story publicly, and she confessed that she doesn’t regret it. of her decision.
However, she was worried about some backlash But Congresswoman Jayapal was inspired to talk about her story , seeing the relentless attacks on abortion in recent years, culminating in the Supreme Court draft opinion that was leaked last week.
“This draft opinion is just the culmination of an organized anti-abortion strategy to take away the constitutional rights of millions of Americans.”
So she said she’s glad Senator Schumer has announced that the Senate will immediately take up the bill HR Act 3755, the Women’s Health Protection Act, to protect Roe protections and prevent prohibited statewide anti-abortion bills we are seeing in states like Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and many others.
The House of Representatives already approved this measure in September 2021, making the Women’s Protection Act , in the most supportive abortion rights bill in the history of Congress.
“We face an uphill battle, because even if we were able to obtain 35 votes Democrats, this bill is subject to filibuster, a tool that allows the minority to block the will of the majority.”
Indicated that the majority of Americans want the right to abortion to be protected.
“For almost 50 years, in poll after poll, a majority of Americans support abortion access.”
She made it clear that the prohibition of abortion is felt more in communities of color, including, Asian American communities.
“The 21% of immigrants seeking an abortion in the United States are from the AAPI population that has historically faced barriers to accessing abortion health care.”
Congresswoman Jayapal said that abortion is extremely personal and sometimes a very difficult decision. “Let me be clear, if this leaked opinion comes true next month or whenever, abortion is not going to miraculously disappear.”
And he pointed out that the people who will pay the price of this setback in the communities are Latinos, Afro-Americans, Asians, indigenous, low-income, survivors of incest and abuse who will bear the brunt of this unjust and unconstitutional decision.
“We are talking about millions of people across the country, whose lives will be literally in danger because an extremist court decided to politicize health care, which will mean a death sentence for millions of people.”
Said that the implications of tearing down the right to abortion will be far-reaching. “What’s next?…Are we going to see the right to gay or interracial marriage struck down? The truth is that we don’t know what the designated minority in court will do next”.
He stated that with his story he hopes to inspire others to speak.
“ Abortion is a problem that happens in all communities. There is no community in which a pregnant woman is thinking about that”.
Sung Yeon, director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, said that we are at a critical point of access to abortion rights if Roe is eliminated.
“The opinion leaked from the Supreme Court clearly threatens the lives of those who depend on abortion care, most of them minority people who represent the 60% in the country”.
She mentioned that while Asian American women are often ignored in the abortion fight, it is an issue they care about, and it is a direct assault on their s communities.
“National data reveals that 35% of pregnancies end in abortion for Asian American and Pacific Islander women, which is the second largest percentage among demographic groups.”
She added that 7 out of 10 Asian American women support the legalization of abortion.
Aliza Kazmi, director of HEART, Women and girls, a Muslim women’s organization, said that according to the most recent survey of 2022, the 56% of Muslims in the country support access to abortion.
“They consider that it should be legal in most cases.”
He said he is not surprised because low-income Muslims, African-Americans, indigenous people, queer and people with disabilities have experienced that the sacred autonomy of their bodies has been violated.
And continues to be violated through surveillance, criminalization, incarceration, deportation and other oppressive systems that target communities.
“Historically, decisions about abortion are made between the woman and the midwife, but the state does not interfere , unless invited to give a consultation.”
He added that if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, it will continue to devastate communities of color, African-Americans, indigenous people, minorities, low-income people , Muslims and others.
“We are working with various groups and leaders, because we will no longer be invisible and we will not allow them to continue criminalizing us for exercising the autonomy of our body.”