Letter: Voting critical

Friday was an incredibly sad day in America. Now, anyone who can get pregnant will now be forced to give birth, even if it takes their own life. Now, the rapist wins. Now, the family member who is sexually assaulting their child wins. Now, the religious right wins.

With the horrific Supreme Court Decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, pregnant people have been made into mere birthing vessels destined to become parents regardless of how they got pregnant and regardless of the effect on their own future.

This dystopian society has been the long game for the right. Conservatives have spent decades aiming to ignore sound medical science and the separation of church and state.

The goal of creating an anti-choice, misogynistic and patriarchal SCOTUS has been successful and the clocks have been turned back 49 years. Sadly, they are not stopping. Already, we are seeing states aiming to block access to birth control. Who knows where this will end?

Communities of color and those with less access to healthcare will definitely be the hardest hit. We know that Black maternal mortality is a major health crisis that is only now getting any attention.

We know Illinois will remain a state where abortion care and reproductive rights remain legal and supported by our legislators and groups like Illinois NOW. As members of the Reproductive Health Coalition, we will continue to fight to keep our state a safe haven for those seeking privacy when making what can be the most difficult decision of their lives.

But none of this exists in a vacuum. You must vote to keep pro-choice legislators in office.

To learn more about what Illinois NOW is doing to protect your rights and to join the fight, please visit ilnow.org. We are all in this fight together.

Laura R. Welch, President

Illinois National Organization for Women