By Alex Radt
It would be an understatement to say that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning the earlier ruling in Roe v. Wade, has sparked backlash. As a person who is both disabled and genderqueer, I have two reminders for others about keeping your conversations and action inclusive — something that is always necessary when fighting for real, positive change.
First, many disabled people cannot attend protests. Individuals may have a variety of reasons for this, including mobility challenges, heat intolerance, sensory overload, and a high risk of being severely impacted by COVID-19. (One way you can make protests more accessible is by wearing a mask and taking other basic precautions, instead of choosing to needlessly put high-risk individuals’ lives in danger. We would like to be able to do more to fight for our own rights!) Remember that activism comes in many forms, including using platforms such as Ecosystemic or social media to inform others, and do not look down on those who are posting online instead of taking part in the type of activism you value. Implying that we don’t care enough or aren’t doing enough is hurtful, especially given that there are a number of reasons why the Supreme Court’s ruling hits the disabled community particularly hard:
- Disabled people are sexually assaulted at three times the rate of abled people.
- Due to our disabilities, many of us would be in extreme danger of dying or developing additional medical conditions if we were forced to carry a pregnancy or give birth.
- Crossing state lines is not an option for many disabled people, due to accessibility challenges and due to the staggeringly high percentage of disabled people who live below the poverty line.
- Some chronic medical conditions make an individual more likely to experience a miscarriage, and some chronic medical conditions are treated with medication that can also be used in abortions. Legislation in certain states will criminalize individuals with any of these conditions.
Second, make sure your language is inclusive of people of all genders. Abortion access is a women’s issue, because it primarily affects women and because the gender it primarily affects is one of the reasons why it is so restricted. However, it is not only a women’s issue; it also affects people of other genders who were assigned female at birth. Use language that includes transgender men and nonbinary people. We should be able to protest this horribly unjust and oppressive ruling without being further marginalized by our fellow protesters.
Keep these points in mind when approaching the subject of abortion, apply the same principles of intersectionality to all other subjects, and remember that just as no individual is defined by only one identity, no social issue exists in isolation, with no effect on or connection to other issues.
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