Statement on the overturning of Roe v. Wade
June 29, 2022
Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ruling against the constitutional right of childbearing people* to make decisions about their own bodies. For the past 49 years, Roe has been critical in advancing gender equity in educational, economic, and political spheres. Last week’s ruling reduces choices for childbearing people, removes individual agency, and limits access to safe health care, with differentiated impact on folks depending on their state, economic situation, race, and ethnicity.
At MAEC, we are still reeling from this inhumane ruling. We know there is more anger, fear, and frustration to come, as Justice Clarence Thomas calls for reconsidering contraception rights and gay rights. MAEC will always advocate for people who are marginalized by our unjust systems. Drawing from the words of the great Black feminist poet Audre Lorde, “You do not have to be me in order for us to fight alongside each other. I do not have to be you to recognize that our wars are the same.” We’re in this together.
When we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX earlier this month, President Susan Shaffer reflected, “We must never take our rights and responsibilities for granted.” Our work with schools, districts, and state education agencies is grounded in that call to action. We work so that every student fully lives within their rights to be treated humanely and with respect in and out of school, regardless of their gender identity. Now is the time to strengthen our communities, coalitions, and civic engagement in order to protect the rights of childbearing people and LGBTQIA+ communities, especially for people who are poor, low-income, and BIPOC.
*MAEC uses the term “childbearing people” to recognize non-binary and transgender people, who also birth children.
