Yr Words

The past few months have been a rollercoaster of emotions for many, myself included. The fall of Roe v. Wade opened a new era in this country, and I’m not just talking about politics. This ill-begotten decision marks a before and after for individual freedoms in the United States and is a dangerous slope for other freedoms we have been foolish enough to consider granted. Last week’s abortion ban bill introduced by Senator Lindsay Graham and supported by our very own Marco Rubio is a reminder of that. That’s why I decided to join SEIU’s ‘We Decide’ campaign.

After the fall of Roe, Republicans were happy to “send the decision back to the states”, even though reproductive rights’ activists warned us that there would be more to come. And now, we see that they were right. These white men in suits who do not know me or you are now making decisions for all of us no matter what state you live in.

Graham’s bill is so extreme that it would force women to have invasive transvaginal ultrasounds due to a requirement that doctors determine fetal age before an abortion. This is what Rubio has signed on to, yet another way for the government to control what should be a personal decision made solely by me with the consultation of healthcare professionals.

I am terrified! As an older Millennial, all I have known my entire life is that I was in charge of my healthcare decisions which have been many. You see, I was born with a congenital illness called Marfan’s Syndrome. This condition impacts my life in many ways, and one of them is childbearing.

The moment I knew it was serious with my now-husband, I explained my condition to him, letting him know that there was a possibility that the best choice for my well-being could be not to have biological children. Even though my fertility is not jeopardized, a pregnancy would be extremely high-risk, and there is a 50% chance that my child would be born with the condition at any level of severity, including neonatal Marfan’s which means the child’s quality of life would be severely impacted from birth.

I didn’t like those odds, so we made the decision, after much painstaking deliberation, to adopt. But, what if my birth control were to fail? This scenario would be difficult for us to deal with and it’s been made even more difficult by men like Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, and Ron DeSantis.

It is now more clear than ever, that the decision voter’s have in front of them this November will be between a party that is hellbent on ramming through the wishes of a Christian-Nationalist base to the detriment of absolutely everybody else, and a party who wants basic freedoms to cover the biggest swath of the population possible.

Rubio has been on the record throughout his career as someone vehemently opposed to reproductive rights and has openly called for the overturning of Roe. His views are so extreme that he has said in numerous occasions that he opposes abortions even in cases of rape or incest. That is just simply unacceptable in a civilized society.

Now Rubio is talking out both sides of his mouth. After getting what he had been dreaming of, the overturning of Roe, he has recently been evading the issue as he runs for reelection against Congresswoman Val Demings. You’d think he’d be taking a victory lap! But he knows the electorate is rightfully furious about their reproductive rights being threatened by politicians of his ilk and when asked if he still holds on to his barbaric views of restricting abortion access even in the most extreme of cases, Rubio dodges the question or says that the decision should be let to the states.

In comes Graham’s bill and Rubio’s cosponsorship, and suddenly it’s back to being a federal issue and not a state’s issue. Who can keep up?!

Marco Rubio has shown himself once again as an untrustworthy politician. He will say whatever is most convenient at any particular time to benefit his political career but one thing is clear, Rubio wants a national abortion ban and he has just co-sponsored one. As a woman who has dealt with delicate healthcare issues my whole life, the last thing I need is another hurdle in my path to wellness and care.

Adriana Rivera, Orlando Florida Immigrant Coalition

‘LIVING ON FIFTH AVENUE’ BY CLAY JONES