Liberty & Justice For All
The Fight for Women’s Freedom
Written by Anne Avilez
In a nation founded upon the principles of freedom and the liberty of choice, our government has failed us greatly. There is no denying that our country has effectively waged a war on women with no end in sight. As a 20 year old Latina woman, attempting to wrap my head around the lack of humanity that possessed our Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022 brings me to tears. As a first-generation Latina student seeking to enter the legal field, the perennial failure of our justice system feels like a constant stab at the progress POC women hope to make in this country. However this time it feels as if the bar for progress has been set to an impossible height while we continue to move backwards. Growing up in Texas for the majority of my life I was naturally exposed to various conservative communities with conservative ideologies. When my home state of Texas was the first to announce its intent to criminalize abortions should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, many of my close community members displayed adamant support. At the time, this in itself was alarming because it revealed the level of support for imposing control upon women and the lack of education present in our society on the matter. No matter how hard we fought then for the freedom of choice, our words fell upon deaf ears.
Our country prides itself on being the beacon of hope for a better life, liberation from oppression, and freedom of expression justifying war and foreign intervention upon these principles. Yet, when it comes to its own people we now represent the exact opposite. We condemn other nations for their control of women, yet the white men running our government have so readily stripped these rights from us making it evident that it was never about genuine concern for humanity. The jargon associated with the ruling and statements uttered by male politicians are the embodiment of the most vile side of our society. From awarding more rights to a gun than a woman amidst the loss of so many innocent lives, to denying an abortion to a 10 year-old girl, the attack on women and children is palpable.
By restricting access to abortion, our right to healthcare is infringed upon. Criminalizing abortion will never eliminate abortions, but rather the right to a safe abortion. Prior to this ruling, marginalized communities and POC women already had limited access to these resources and this will only continue. Legally, women in these communities will be in more dire need than before. This is why I have chosen to dedicate today’s Give Back Tuesday to the National Women’s Law Center, an organization dedicated to supporting access to abortion by co-authoring legislation regarding women's rights, working with media outlets and the entertainment industry to prevent misinformation regarding reproductive rights, and litigation in favor of reproductive freedom. If you also wish to give back to the National Women’s Law Center, feel free to visit their website. It is our responsibility as the nation’s future leaders to fight against these injustices and ensure that our interests are protected through effective representation. We all have the right to liberty and justice, but when will it truly be for all?
About the Author: Anne Avilez - Date of Birth Inc. Social Media Manager & Project Manager
Anne is a rising Senior at the University of California San Diego studying International Business with a concentration in Pre-Law and a minor in Psychology. She is currently at the University of Oxford studying International Law and International Relations. Anne is also the Vice-President of the Society of Hispanic Students in Law and the Administrative Director of GENup UCSD, an educational reform organization to increase accessibility to higher education.
Every month we’ll continue to highlight and donate to non-profit organizations that are in service to DOB’s three core principles; sustainable, inclusive, local.