LMLD (6): Contemporary Battles

 

Disclaimer - This interview was conducted prior to the 2016 Presidential Election results.

What issues are at the forefront of the fight for reproductive rights today?

 

Christine: I would say the attack on reproductive rights from an incremental level is a really scary thing because it creeps up on you and before you know it, you’ve got whole states where a woman cannot get a legal abortion. That’s crazy and that’s happening. Some of this has been reigned back. I want to raise another point which is that you get more people voting in general elections that you do in non-general elections. The president is an important person, they are going to elect Supreme Court justices who will have a BIG impact on reproductive rights from a constitutional angle. But then you have local races which tend to be very low voter turnout which means that you often get a more conservative bent. It’s very scary because that’s Congress. That’s the Senate. That’s where a lot of policy gets made and it’s very dangerous if young people don’t see the value in voting in non-general elections. So I think making sure that people are aware of the issues and continue to vote throughout election cycles, that would be very critical.

 

Maria: I think one positive aspect of what’s going on is that there is a lot more communication through the internet. I hope we can hold onto that in a good kind of way. There has been such a division in the United States because of disenfranchised white people who are no longer part of a “middle class”. I feel that the whole structure here has changed. I think that’s a big issue. The middle class is a mover to get people into education. I think Bernie’s point of the free tuition is something we’ve got to keep; it’s a real important passport to keeping the dreams going for any kind of a movement. I have a big question mark; I don’t know. I hope I’m around long enough to see some good changes. I’m a little concerned.

Christine: I would say one more thing and that is that I think the movement needs to make sure that it has a way of engaging young men, with them understanding that reproductive rights are as much their rights as they are women’s rights.

 

Alex

*New post, Next Tuesday!*

my grandma in Jamaica (1970)