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I remember the first time my body — a body with a uterus — was politicized. I was in the eighth grade, and I had to watch the 2016 presidential election debates for my American History class.

I watched as former President Donald J. Trump argued for abortion to be a state issue, while Hilary Clinton defended my right to a decision. Clinton defended Planned Parenthood and all the necessities it provides beyond abortion. Trump wanted nothing to do with it.

“He’ll never be elected,” responded my teacher the next morning in class. Evidently, we were wrong.

I remember the abortion clinic by my house. More times than not, there’d be protestors outside holding signs of graphic, triggering photos of abortions and fetuses. More often than not, these signs presented misinformed images of abortion. “REPENT,” their posters screamed, “THERE’S ALWAYS ANOTHER WAY!” Syracuse’s Planned Parenthood looks the same.

I felt empathy for those entering the clinic who had to not only withstand the emotional plight of an abortion but also the persecution and judgment of the people who stood in their way.

As the years went on, the era of Trump in our country ignited such hatred as mass Christian idealism began to leak into our government. Still, the debate of the overturning of Roe v. Wade was ongoing.

“Well surely we have nothing to worry about,” my U.S. History teacher explained. “For it to be overturned, President Trump would have to appoint at least two new Supreme Court Judges, and then the conversation of Roe v. Wade could possibly happen, but it’s very unlikely.”

Again, we were wrong. I remember where I was when I first received the news that Roe was indeed overturned.

On June 24, 2022, I woke up to a call from my then-boyfriend. “Haley, I’m sorry to tell you this but I wanted you to hear it from me rather than social media. Roe V. Wade has been overturned. I’m so sorry. I know there’s nothing that I can do but just know that I’m here for you.”

To Republican men who believe in access to abortions: you may believe in my right to choose, but your Republican ideals don’t. Republicans have pushed for Roe to be overturned for decades. The party that you support has historically caused harm to women and minorities at large.

The Republican party sought out to regulate the coverage of birth control, mandated ultrasounds when getting an abortion and limits as to when an abortion can be conducted.

Their own leader, former President Trump tolerated the sexist locker room talk with statements like, “Grab em by the p*ssy. You can do anything.” What kind of example does this set for how to treat another human being? Respect is bare minimum. This is a War on Women.

As for other minority groups, the Republican Party has restricted education programs in schools that relate to people of color and queer communities. Recently, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently stripped the College Board of topics taught in the Advanced Placement African Studies. Limiting education on pivotal black writers, the history of the Black Lives Matter Movement, the queer experience and Black Feminism.

The embedded discrimination traced back even to the “War on Drugs,” otherwise known as the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, pushed by former President Ronald Reagan. The over policing of minority neighborhoods and excessive charges for minor crimes, led to the incarceration of one third of Black and Brown men from the ages 20 to 29.

Don’t claim to be an ally to women, when the party you vote for has consistently set those with uteruses and other oppressed groups back decades. Instead ask yourself, when has your body ever been regulated? Has a decision about your body been made for you? Have you been told to sacrifice your body? If you answered no, take the time to listen to others rather than give your opinion on a situation that has nothing to do with you.

The only people who should be debating an abortion are people with uteruses — the people who have to sacrifice their bodies, their mental states, their lives, to bring another human being into this world.

I don’t want the federal government to decide. I don’t want the states to decide. I don’t want my parents to decide. And I certainly don’t want a male politician to make any decision for me.

We must fight for choice for ourselves, our mothers, our sisters, our friends and most importantly the future generation of those who can give birth. They should be able to live in a world where they can make a decision for themselves.
I hope this serves as an opportunity for people with different experiences to put themselves in someone else’s shoes.

Haley Thompkins is a sophomore acting major. She can be reached at hkthompk@syr.edu.

Published on February 5, 2023 at 11:17 pm