Rep.-elect Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., pauses to speak to media as she walks from member-elect briefings and orientation on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
While oral arguments were made Wednesday in the first SCOTUS abortion case since Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, activists unsurprisingly gathered.
In front of the Supreme Court, Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib spoke to a rallied pro-choice crowd.
In her address, she recalled some abortion-positive comebacks during her time in the Michigan legislature.
But first, a revelation:
“This past year, I realized — my, my, my are they obsessed with our bodies, how we talk, how we look, what we stand for — I mean this type of policing of our bodies is so interconnected to all the social justice movements all around the country.”
Now here’s a story for ya:
“You know I, in the legislature — in the Michigan legislature for six years — used to say to people, ‘Yo yo, you know what? You’re so freakin’ obsessed with what I decide to do with my body, maybe you shouldn’t even wanna have sex with me!’ (pointing to the crowd) Or with you. Or with any women.”
.@RashidaTlaib at today’s abortion rally: “Yo yo, you know what, you’re so freakin' obsessed with what I decide to do with my body, maybe you shouldn’t even want to have sex with me!”
Adds that pro-life pols are “commercializing” women’s bodies to make them “less than." pic.twitter.com/yTt10nNvdY
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 4, 2020
Rashida’s commentary, of course, illustrates a major problem with political discourse in America. Maybe it’s good for cheers from those in her sight, but her words accomplish nothing.
In order to make way in any conflict, you must address the core disagreement.
No one on the pro-life side of the argument gives a flip about what someone does with their body. The contention, as you know — and as surely does she — is that it’s a baby’s body.
And until there’s the willingness to have thoughtful debate over that issue, there will be only posturing in lieu of progress.
As for the court case at hand, it questions a Louisiana law which mandates that abortion clinics obtain hospital admission privileges in case the procedure is botched.
Outside, Rashida’s fellow speaker — Renee Bracey Sherman — gave kudos to those present who’d undergone abortions themselves:
“A special shout-out to — where my people who’ve had abortions? Where y’all at? Nothing about this work is going to be without us! Woo!”
For Renee, having an abortion was “one of the best decisions” she ever made.
.@RBraceySherman, who self-describes as the “Beyonce of Abortion Story Telling,” at today’s rally: “I had an abortion when I was 19. It was honestly one of the best decisions of my life; I was simply not ready to be a parent, and that’s really all you need to need to know!" pic.twitter.com/W8rtUJYNhe
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 4, 2020
As per the author and activist’s website, she’s the “Beyonce of Abortion Storytelling.”
In January, she shared an article asserting that “having the abortion talk with children is easier than you think.”
She’s already done so with her 5-year-old:
I've talked to my 5-year-old niece about my work and abortion in an age-appropriate way. She understands that kids are a handful and sometimes people don't want to be pregnant. She gets it because it's quite simple.https://t.co/w4Rq6JrUP3
— Renee Bracey Sherman (@RBraceySherman) January 15, 2020
Back to Rashida, she had a message about commercialization and revenue for Americans who are pro-life. Perhaps some of you can explain it to me:
“[E]nough is enough. We won’t stand by for you to commercialize, for you to profit, for you to do all the things you do to — what? To make us ‘less than’ in this country. Because that’s what it does.”
-ALEX
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