When Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in by the Supreme Court, she insisted overturning Roe v. Wade wasn't on her agenda. That landmark case made it possible for pregnant people across America to legally choose whether to have an abortion. There are many reasons a person would want to terminate their pregnancy. Money, age, health and sexual assault are just some of the reasons a person would choose to get an abortion.
Some religious people, Christians in particular, oppose abortion and therefore, the right to choose. They claim to be pro-life, as if the majority of pro-choice individuals are anti-life. No decent human being is pro-abortion. It's excruciatingly painful (both emotionally and physically) for the person experiencing it. Even though there's supposed to be a separation of church and state, some don't seem to care about that.
Certain folks in the Supreme Court especially don't seem to care, since they have decided to vote on overturning Roe v. Wade. This was revealed through leaked documents, the authenticity of which was later confirmed by the Supreme Court. With a conservative majority in the Supreme Court (thanks in large part to Amy Coney Barrett replacing RBG), this doesn't look good for those who are pro-choice.
While many cite religion as their motive for being against abortion, that belief doesn't apply to all religions. In Judaism, abortion is viewed as acceptable if the pregnancy endangers the life of the carrier. What about Jewish people? Do their religious beliefs not count? Christians who cry about their freedom of religion being stripped away seek to deny other religious people that same freedom.
It makes no sense as to why people feel the need to impose their religious views onto others. As stated earlier, there's supposed to be a separation of church and state. This separation guarantees freedom of religion, not the other way around. If you're a Christian who is against abortion, choosing not to get an abortion should be enough for you. You shouldn't have to pass a law forcing everyone else to follow your religious beliefs. Nobody is forcing pregnant Christians to get abortions.
Nobody is forcing them to marry someone of the same sex, either. As you can imagine, the same cast of characters constantly complain about same-sex couples being legally allowed to marry. It's interesting that when interracial marriage was illegal, the Bible was also used as justification. Yet, nobody would dare oppose interracial marriage today and most religious folks have evolved past that. Hopefully we'll reach that stage with same-sex marriage one day. Until then, however, we must deal with cry babies throwing temper tantrums over having to bake wedding cakes for same-sex couples.
These temper tantrums tend to come with a large helping of gaslighting. Justice Clarence Thomas recently spoke out after the leak to chastise people for getting upset over Supreme Court rulings. He didn't specify the Roe v. Wade issue, but broadly referred to recent events. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to decipher what he's referencing. He said that people should accept rulings they don't agree with and refrain from getting upset about them.
Aside from being condescending, this statement falsely equates mere disagreements with people having their rights stripped from them. These two scenarios are very different and getting upset about the latter is more than justified. Protesting and demanding change isn't an overreaction. Justice Thomas' words are nothing more than a pathetic, manipulative attempt to silence criticism and gaslight the American people.
What Justice Thomas and many others seem to miss is the fact that this won't stop abortion. All it will do is cause more unsafe abortions. Who knows how many people will be injured or suffer serious health detriments as a result? As of right now, people in America can have safe abortions performed by a medical professional. It's absolutely barbaric and immoral for the majority of the Supreme Court to take that away from countless American citizens.
Just because America has made progress in terms of abortion rights and marriage equality, it can still be reversed. It's been speculated that overturning same-sex marriage is another item on the Supreme Court's agenda. We must not allow ourselves to be gaslit. We must speak up about these issues. We must vote and take action in whatever way we can. As corny as it may sound, the American people have the power and we can stop our country from regressing. In order for that to happen, we must not give up and keep fighting the good fight.