b'Pay AttentionRoe v. Wade & The Far Rights Extreme PlansTrumppromisedthemjudgeswhoAmerica in which women and doctors wouldoverturnRoev.Wade.Theyare treated like criminals for seeking SEE OPPOSITION tookthedealTrumpoffered.Theyor providing abortion care.turnedouttovote.Andwithhelp We no longer need to imagine that ON PAGE 2 from Senate Republican leader Mitchkind of scenario. Were about to live McConnell, Trump gave them kind ofit.judges they wanted.And thats why we also have to pay And now that they have the powerattention to the consequences of our By Ben Jealous, to impose their will, Americans free- voting behavior. Pres. People for The American Way dom will shrink and American fami- For the most part, the judges who lies will suffer. arelettingstateseliminateaccess T hings are about to get worse forIn fact, many are already suffering.toabortionarethesamejudges millionsofvulnerablepeopleinAnti-choiceactivistshaveharassedlettingstateslimitvotersaccessto our country.andsometimeskilledabortionpro- theballotbox.Theyrethesame Itlookslikethefarright-wingviders. Judges have been letting statejudges who restrict the governments majority on the U.S. Supreme Courtlegislatorspileonmoreandmoreability to regulate harmful corporate isgettingreadytoreverseRoev.restrictionsonabortioncare.Asabehavior. Many of them are the same Wade,the50-year-oldrulingthatresult,insomestates,therighttojudgeswhotriedtodenymillions recognized a pregnant persons rightabortioncaremayexistintheory,ofAmericansaccesstohealthcare to have an abortion. Abortion is legalBen Jealous but in reality, it is virtually nonexis- provided by the Affordable Care Act. today,butprettysoonthatwillnotent,becauseclinicsandprovidersTheSupremeCourtjusticesand longerbethecaseinmostoftheincome people. It is hard to take.have disappeared.otherfederaljudgeswhoareput country.How did this happen?There are hard times and hard deci- inplacebythepresidentandU.S. A leaked draft of a Supreme CourtInthelongterm,ithappenedsions ahead.Senate have jobs for life. That means ruling expected to be released in JunebecauseopponentsontherighttoThere are also lessons to be learnedwe are stuck with Trumps judges for indicates that the Court will rule thatchoosespentdecadesbuildingaand acted on.many years to come. And that means there is no constitutional protectionmovementtomakeithappen.TheyOneimportantlessonisthattheweallneedtothinklongandhard for abortion. Bans will go into effect ininvestedtimeandmoneytoelectSupreme Court has a big impact onaboutwhowevoteforandabout many states immediately, and otherslike-minded politicians. They pushedourlives,eventhoughmostofuseverpassinguptheopportunityto will follow soon. That will leave mil- Republicanpresidentstofillfederaldont think about it in the day to day.vote. lions of women and LGBTQ people courts with judges who were willing,We should all pay more attention.BenJealousservesaspresident and their spouses and partnerslessif not eager, to restrict or ban legalWe should pay attention when theofPeopleFortheAmericanWay free and less in control of their ownaccess to abortion. They made it a topfar right tells us what they plan to doandProfessorofthePracticeatthe health, lives, and families.prioritywhendecidingwhetherandwith their political power. They haveUniversity of Pennsylvania. A New York Likemanylawsandpolicydeci- how to vote.been loud and clear about their intentTimes best-selling author, his next book sionshandeddownfromonhigh,Intheshortterm,ithappenedto overturn Roe v. Wade. But many"Never Forget Our People Were Always theharmwillfallhardestonthosebecause Donald Trump won the 2016Americans refused to believe that theFree"willbepublishedbyHarper with the fewest resources and politi- presidential election. To energize thethreat to Roe v. Wade was real. TheyCollins in December 2022.calpowerpeopleofcolorandlow- RepublicanPartysideologicalbase,just could not imagine a 21st Century 8 JUNE 2022 BOCNEWS.com'