Amplify Asian America Stands for Rights to Bodily Autonomy
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States released a devastating ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning the constitutional right to abortions established from Roe v. Wade (1973). This decision takes away a landmark precedent of a fundamental right that has existed for two generations. Furthermore, it compounds the barriers to health care that already exist for Asian American women in the context of economic inequality, language injustice, and immigration enforcement.
Amplify Asian America (A3) believes in reproductive justice for all, especially those who have been historically oppressed through their bodies for having the ability to conceive. Those who are Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), low-income, trans, and/or disabled have already had their bodily autonomy restricted by many institutions including the criminal-legal, healthcare, and social welfare systems. Such restrictions follow in a long history of the state’s policing of BIPOC communities through forced sterilization, eugenics programs, and anti-miscegenation and immigration laws. These groups will continue to face the greatest harm by the institutions seeking to criminalize abortions and reproductive outcomes.
The right to an abortion is a healthcare right that all people who can conceive children deserve because bodily autonomy is a fundamental human right. Forcing people to use their bodies against their will to undergo or complete a pregnancy is an egregious overreach of the government. Make no mistake, abortion rights ultimately affect all of us, from our ability to plan families to our ability to seek care for ourselves and our loved ones.
A3 seeks to empower Asian American youth to be fully able to engage in their local governance and communities. We understand that having full access and freedoms to be civically engaged is inextricably tied to having freedom from discrimination and oppression due to our gender, sex, race, age, income level, and more. A3 will always stand for full, basic human rights being enshrined for all Americans. We stand for healthcare justice - which includes abortion access and equitable healthcare for all.
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