Forward Thinking

Note: to center the humanity of the women impacted, I’ll use terms like “women who are incarcerated”, “women experiencing incarceration”, and “women in detention” interchangeably throughout this blog instead of phrases like “incarcerated women” 

Having the freedom to decide if and when we have kids is fundamental to building the lives we want for ourselves. But in the face of a housing affordability crisis, underfunded child care infrastructure, and a widening gender wage gap, this fundamental freedom feels further and further out of reach. Instead of addressing these economic issues, anti-abortion lawmakers are trying to divest from proven social services and invest in anti-abortion programs that are not only ineffective, but detrimental to communities.

Targeting marginalized communities is an issue across various businesses, including finance, food and beverage, and retail. Anti-abortion centers (AACs) also fall in the predatory business category. AACs’ strategic targeting of marginalized communities exploits disparities and systemic inequalities in reproductive health care to their advantage.

On Equal Pay Day, we hear a lot about the gender wage gap (and for good reason). But there’s something else that has been deepening economic insecurity: abortion bans and restrictions.

Has the anti-abortion movement weaponized the judicial branch to enforce its agenda? Of course it has. The Supreme Court of the United States’ (SCOTUS) ethical state-of-play is particularly concerning given the justices will be hearing oral arguments on the two biggest post-Roe reproductive rights cases so far.

In 2023 alone, over 520 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures, more than 220 bills specifically target transgender and non-binary people, and 70 anti-LGBTQ laws have been enacted in various states,

The United Nations (UN) defines human rights as, “rights we have simply because we exist as human beings - they are not granted by the state.” These range from the right to food and education, to health and liberty. The United Nations also affirms that access to culturally competent reproductive health care is a human right. As such, the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v.