For July 2022, for our monthly sharing partner, we are responding to the many calls to respond to the recent dismantling of Roe v. Wade legal protections. The American Ethical Union, of which the Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture is a member, has long supported the right of people to make choices about their own reproductive system in deciding whether and when to have a child. [June 2022 Statement from the American Ethical Union on the US Supreme Court and Roe v. Wade]
The Guttmacher Institute, carefully studying abortion statistics, estimates that about one in four women in the US has or will have an abortion by the time she is 45 years old, so this decision affects a very large number of women. Trans women and nonbinary people may have even more challenges in exercising reproductive choice. BIPOC pregnant people and those who are low income and poor will have the most difficulty accessing choice.
In the state of New York it is still legal to access abortion services (until federal legislation is passed banning abortions nationwide). Pregnant people in other states do not have such access, in many cases starting immediately after the Supreme Court decision. Our sharing partner this month is the National Network of Abortion Funds, which funds 92 local abortion funds that are flexible enough to respond to the different needs in different places. These funds provide financial assistance, travel, lodging, and many other types of support to abortion seekers. This network of abortion funds exists to fill the gaps in care, working to keep abortion access possible for anyone, wherever they live and wherever they are seeking care.
Please be generous as we make our collective voice heard via a concrete contribution. Because we are not always and all of us meeting in person, you can contribute online or send a check to the RYSEC office.