by MK
The international community in Trieste is speaking out after Friday’s landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, marking a drastic change in abortion rights in the United States.
Erin Johnson: “It makes me horrendously sad that millions of American women will have their basic rights and bodily autonomy stripped away by a Supreme Court that doesn’t represent the will of the majority of the American people. If they really cared about every life, why are maternity and paternity leave not mandatory, and why don’t they care about kids getting shot at school? The U.S. has taken a giant step backward while the rest of the world is moving forward, and I hope people will keep fighting it at the state and national levels.”
Laura Pinna: “Most days I dread seeing what’s waiting for me when I turn on my iPad. Once again my life doesn’t feel like it’s my own. I’m past my reproductive years, but I am female and all women are my sisters. When I was a young woman and financially insecure, I was dependent on Planned Parenthood and received lots of assistance in regards to my reproductive health. I used a whole array of their services as many minority women living in the states do today. They are the ones most affected. I’m afraid for them. I’m distraught, heartbroken and fearful at the direction the US is taking in personal choice matters. As an expat I often feel quite separate from the US, but I also feel the same when I’m there. I just read, the US isn’t going backwards, it’s moving forwards in a more sinister way. I wonder, who is next on this hit list?”
Hannah Pugel: “Today is a great day to not live in the United States. One month after I graduated high school I moved outside the USA as a single, 18 year old female. I always felt I was in the wrong place, even though it was the only country I had lived in. I never felt safe; I was always worried something bad was going to happen to me. This was 2011, before the Aurora shooting, before the Sandy Hook shooting, before the Pulse nightclub shooting, before the Las Vegas shooting, and this list of senseless violence goes on. There was always the risk of gun violence, but that wasn’t the primary cause for my fear. You know why I felt so unsafe? Because in the United States, one in five women experience completed or attempted rape during their lifetime. Let those numbers sink in. Growing up, I was raised to be pro-life/anti-abortion. I knew if I became pregnant from an attack, I would have to give birth to the child. I was terrified for my personal safety and for my future. It was safer to leave the country than to stay and potentially become a statistic. My beliefs have changed after understanding what a limited and privileged worldview I had. I’m horrified that the highest court has determined that women do not have a basic human right to protect their own body and wellbeing. I’m heartbroken for the 70 million women affected by this ruling, and for the generations to come. Today, more than ever, I am thankful to live in Italy.”
Cindy Rongione: “I remember fighting with my dad in the 70’s about reproduction rights. We were a very traditional family. I was born in Trieste but raised in NYC. My dad was appalled by the feminist movement, and I now see that it took a privilege to an ugly extent. Abortion was never supposed to be used as a form of birth control. In NY state you can have abortion up to 24 weeks. The ruling doesn’t change anything. It’s giving the states the ability to choose. It all depends on whether you’re living in a conservative state. Maybe the change will bring more balance.”
Theresa Conti: “The overturning of Roe vs. Wade is a step back in history for women. It is a threat to our health, (think back to the days before Roe vs Wade, when women died as a result of unsafe procedures), as well as threatens our liberties, not only in the U.S., but abroad, as it strengthens the decisions of policy makers in other parts of the world, and potentially sets a trend in autocratic societies.. Women will NOT be held back. This isn’t the end of the story.”
Lucia Varlotta: “In short, I’m horrified and it’s a hard day to be an American woman. While I feel grateful that living in my new home of Italy I am still able to make that choice for myself, I’m angry for the millions of women whose choices and bodies are no longer protected in their home states – many don’t have the ability or privilege to travel to another state within the US to access safe abortion and they shouldn’t have to. I’m afraid for the future of my country and all of its women. What rights will they try to take away (and worse – very possibly succeed in taking away) from us next?”
