BRATTLEBORO — On Sept. 1, the Texas Heartbeat Act came into effect.
This act allows individuals to sue anyone who performs or assists in an abortion being performed at or around six weeks after conception (about when a fetus's heart starts beating).
This could be anyone involved, from the one who does the procedure to a person who provides transportation to the clinic. If a defendant is proven liable, they could face charges of at least $10,000.
This effectively intimidates clinics out of providing abortions.
Eighty-five percent of abortions performed in Texas happen after that six-week period - this is largely because most women don't even know they are pregnant at that point.
There are many reasons why someone would get an abortion - physical, mental, financial - but honestly, all of them are no one's goddamn business.
A fetus is entirely dependent on that person's body to stay alive. We cannot make the decision for that person whether or not they want to go through with that pregnancy.
* * *
In a world on the brink of climate disaster, where necessities are a luxury and not a given, why is it that, instead of focusing on the danger ahead, we are forced to look back and regain rights that are being taken away from us?
If you really want to protect children, you wouldn't be targeting reproductive health care. You would be targeting our government's complete and utter failure to value people over profit, whether that's the deliberate neglect of climate mitigation because of its stake in fossil fuels or the lack of protection offered to BIPOC and low-income communities because their exploitation is profitable.
This is not a mistake, or an oversight, but a conscious choice to continue to uphold an economic system that is deeply flawed.
Our government is failing us, our economic system is failing us, and the ability for the Texas Heartbeat Act to pass through the judicial system is nothing but a symptom of how sick our country is.
* * *
We need to remember that we have the power to say no, to fight back, for the removal of this act in Texas but beyond that - for climate mitigation, for universal health care and, ultimately, for equity and the right to live.
Right here, right now, at this rally we are doing something: We are making a point that we care, no matter how insignificant we seem.
However, this is not enough. We can continue making a difference. We can offer financial support to Planned Parenthood and other such organizations.
But we can also build up our communities, notice places where change needs to happen, and be willing to be the first to move toward making that change.