Women's bodies are on the 2022 midterm ballot

"We do have a powerful tool to respond to these threats — the ability to vote. The November midterm elections grant us an opportunity to defend our freedom of self-governance by electing sexual and reproductive health advocates who unapologetically champion abortion rights."

Echo opinion by Wendy Stark and Dipal Shah, published in the New York Daily News:

To say that we are in a moment of deep crisis in this country is an understatement. Today, a third of American women are unable to access the health care they need to control their own bodies. 

Unbelievably, the ripple effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to override Roe v. Wade are countless and unnerving, leaving a patchwork of abortion access throughout the country.

For people like Nancy Davis, a mother from Louisiana, outlawing abortion care is as cruel as it is dangerous.

In fact, Louisiana’s draconian anti-abortion law would have forced Davis to suffer through her pregnancy only to lose her child days later, or in Davis’ words: “I had to carry my baby to bury my baby.” Further, the effects may be felt locally as well. With politicians eyeing a federal ban on abortion, even New Yorkers could be in jeopardy of losing what we have taken for granted: the freedom to make informed decisions about our bodies, families and futures.

We do have a powerful tool to respond to these threats — the ability to vote. The November 2022, midterm elections grant us an opportunity to defend our freedom of self-governance by electing sexual and reproductive health advocates who unapologetically champion abortion rights. Bodily autonomy is on the ballot this November, and we have a fundamental role in the outcome. This is not a drill.

New York is an abortion-access state thanks to voters who in 2018, placed a pro-reproductive health majority in full control of the Legislature. Because of this, in a post-Roe era, Davis was eventually able to get the care she desperately needed at Planned Parenthood of Greater New York. There are thousands of stories like hers, with Americans looking to New York as a haven for abortion access.

In the absence of Roe v. Wade, New York has a responsibility to not only defend our rights but also advance equitable access to reproductive health care for those in abortion-hostile states. This requires us to once again harness our collective voting power to ensure true champions of our fundamental human rights are elected to office at every level of government. As people travel to New York to access critical reproductive care, what happens here in New York’s November elections will impact lives throughout the country.

Punitive abortion bans disempower large portions of our populace while further criminalizing marginalized communities already over-represented in the criminal legal system. New York must inoculate against this vitriol by enacting into law longstanding pending bills that guarantee higher protection to our communities — bills such as the NY Equal Rights Amendment, the Reproductive Freedom and Equity Program and a comprehensive sex education bill. This year’s local elections are our state’s chance to become a true beacon of progressive ideology.

There’s no denying that the Supreme Court’s reckless and cruel decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has drastically changed the world as we knew it. But while it may seem like the Supreme Court gave politicians more authority over our health care decisions, the power over our own bodily autonomy lies in the hands of you, the voter. Let’s make this Election Day another one for the history books — one where we put this country and New York State back on a path of greater liberty, freedom, and sexual and reproductive justice for all.

Wendy Stark is president and CEO and Dipal Shah is executive director of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York Action Fund.