It’s quite something, isn’t it? To think that just recently, I was procrastinating the writing of a blog about inflation because it seemed too grim. And now. What to say about now? 

Let’s start with the big picture. 

In and beyond my circles, a great many people celebrate their good fortune to live in a democracy. Many people will even celebrate this weekend! And yet, the country that poses as a model of democracy has just demonstrated that five unelected people can overturn the preference of the majority and a longstanding precedent. Make no mistake: poll after poll marks last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision on abortion to be undesirable by more than 60% of Americans.

Also shockingly: within courtrooms, we are about to see greater penalties for abortion than for rape. 

Meanwhile, from within the governments that set laws for those courtrooms, we do not see policies that offer enough maternity leave, policies that prevent poverty, policies that stop school shootings, or policies that provide adequate healthcare. And what would could be more “pro-life” than any of those?

In homes across this continent, there are people who want desperately to adopt a child – and yet there are other homes where hundreds of thousands of kids in the child “protection” system desperately await adoption. 

In boardrooms across our country, leaders of companies have been (rightly) quick to decry the murder of Black people and Indigenous children, but they are now so very, very silent…as more than 50 percent of a population loses the right to their own bodies. “Oh, but it’s in another country,” you might say. And in response, I would show you the plethora of public statements from Canadian companies about a man named George Floyd. 

In and beyond my circles, the vast majority of adults – at one point or another and for many reasons – have made choices to avoid having a child. The choice gets made in many ways. Some people even choose to abstain from having sex, but that doesn’t seem to be the preferred route for most…not now nor throughout history.

In my own life, I have experienced the unexpected. Latex is indeed breakable! In response, I have addressed the unexpected by taking a series of pills to prevent my situation from worsening. Access and ability to take similar steps is now being removed from millions of others. 

In my circles, I have friends who have been devastated to learn that a pregnancy would not, after all, become a baby. Instead, they’d have to undergo a procedure that would protect their own health but – according to others – should make them into criminals.

Also in my circles, people I know and love have obtained abortions for other reasons too.

And guess what? Whether you know it or not, they’re in your circles too.