Dear fellow DA members,
Today’s news concerning the Supreme Court’s expected decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade is absolutely chilling.
We’re devastated. But, as Democrats Abroad we need to recognize that this is not a threat exclusively against women. It is an attack on all of us.
This attack on reproductive rights rings a shrill warning bell. We need to be aware that all the hard won legal victories to preserve basic rights and freedoms and to protect marginalized populations from racism, homophobia, sexual harassment are at risk. The 14th Amendment, the right to privacy, in our doctor’s office, our marriages, our homes, is weakened by this decision.
What immediately springs to mind is the prescient warning by Martin Niemöller, World War II freedom fighter: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists...and then they came for me-and there was no one left to speak for me.”
We, in the GWC leadership, understand that this issue has always been about more than controlling women. It’s about authoritarian control of all aspects of society.
The admitted goal of these authoritarians is to roll back generations of progress in civil rights for the many and to consolidate power among the few.
If you are not a wealthy white cis male, they are coming for you next.
U.S. citizens living around the world have been eyewitnesses to authoritarian power-grabs like this over many decades. There are many horrific examples of what a “forced birth” society looks like, especially for poor and marginalized communities. If Roe falls, America will join these repressive regimes.
We have a six-month window to prevent the nightmare of an anti-democratic authoritarian takeover in November.
Republicans hold almost all the cards now, thanks to their skillful application of voter suppression, fear and disinformation tactics. However, we have the overwhelming number of Democratic votes abroad and at home. They know that the majority of Americans reject their patriarchal white supremacist doctrine and this Supreme Court opinion
We have a chance to save our democracy and our freedoms with an overwhelming turnout for the November midterms from Democrats Abroad.
They are betting that we won’t vote in large enough numbers to upset their plans and have done their best to prevent many from doing so which makes our job even more difficult. But we proved them wrong in 2020 and we can do it again.
We can do what we have had to do for far too long and out of absolute necessity to ensure a better future.
We can fight back. We can persist. We can:
- Make a GOTV video for the GWC Reproductive Justice team https://www.democratsabroad.org/american_women_need_your_help_now
- Share our Reproductive Justice videos on social media https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLci_3vugJA6jtxyBdQ8d5Pc0RyJSC0abr
- Go to votefromabroad.org and make sure you are registered to vote
- Volunteer for a DA phonebanking campaign.
- Call on your legislators to immediately pass legislation that codifies Roe v. Wade as the law of the land, even if it requires ending the filibuster to get the job done.
- Contact everyone you know back in the States - your family, your old college buddies, even your right-leaning friends and relatives and help them to understand what’s really at stake - for them too.
- Donate to help us get out the vote.
Let us keep up this fight together in solidarity.
In unity,
Ann Hesse, Chair, GWC with Steering Committee members:
Connie Borde
Angela Fobbs
Naomi Ages
Stayce Camparo
Marnie Delaney
Brooke Scott
Sheila Malovany-Chevallier
Salli Swartz
Carol Moore
Christina Skovsgaard
Jamie McAfee
Shari Temple