Freedom Is on the Ballot. Will We Choose It?

October 22, 2022

Own Your Vote: Freedom Is on the Ballot. Will We Choose It?

Op-Ed by: Laphonza Butler

On Friday, June 24, 2022, I did what most parents were busy doing—driving and dropping off my daughter at summer camp. On the way, we talked about the day and what was in store for her. She was excited. When we arrived, we said our I love yous, waved goodbye and I pulled off, my mind already shifting to the work meetings and the to-do list that waited on my desk.

And then the news came; news that did not surprise me in the least, but jarred me nonetheless. The decision in the Supreme Court case Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health Organization was in, and as a result Roe v. Wade—a nearly 50-year precedent that granted the right to privacy and the ability to have an abortion—had been struck down, pushing essential health care out of the hands of millions and handing their bodily autonomy to elected officials.

Read the full opinion piece here.