GEO Reproductive Justice Statement
GEO is outraged by the abhorrent leaked majority opinion revealing the Supreme Court’s plans to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. This disgusting move is an attack on working class families who cannot afford the exorbitant costs of privatized healthcare. This will disproportionately impact Black, Brown, and Indigenous working class women and people who can become pregnant, exacerbating disparities in access to reproductive care. It will also greatly increase the risk of unsafe, deadly abortions; the World Health Organization attributed 4.7–13.2% of maternal deaths to unsafe abortion, and one study estimated a U.S.-wide abortion ban would increase pregnancy-related deaths by 21%. The ruling, which challenges the 14th Amendment right to privacy, will also have a cascading effect on other hardfought rights.
This decision will impact graduate workers who are struggling without year-round healthcare coverage and the lack of paid parental leave and childcare, as well as students, faculty, and staff. It will also impact the larger Champaign-Urbana community, which, as this Smile Politely op-ed points out, already lacks access to abortion services. As State Representative Carol Ammons notes, close to 10,000 people traveled to Illinois for abortions in 2020 alone. This number will drastically increase if Roe v. Wade is overturned, overwhelming an already limited reproductive care system.
We call on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to proactively use its immense resources to oppose this upcoming Supreme Court decision and lobby for Congressional protections and expanded access to reproductive care and abortion rights. We also call on the UIUC administration to take action by providing affordable year-round healthcare, parental leave, childcare, and improved reproductive care options for all workers and students and by offering resources to expand public access to reproductive care in Champaign County.
At the heart of this ghastly plan to dismantle reproductive rights is an unelected body of 9 people who are accountable to no one and face no repercussions for decisions that will destroy millions of peoples’ lives. We oppose this deeply undemocratic structure and continue the fight to build worker power to make decisions over our bodies and lives! The GEO will continue our militant efforts to defend access to public health and reproductive justice and fight the Supreme Court’s decision. If they don't let us dream, the GEO will not let them sleep.
FREE ABORTIONS
WE DON'T WANT TO DIE
THE ULTIMATE DECISION IS BY
ME, MYSELF AND I
Resources and ways to support:
McKinley Health Center Resource List
Donate to Abortion Funds
Reproductive Justice and Activism Micro-Syllabus
Rally for Reproductive Rights on UIUC campus at Alma Mater, Sun. May 8, 12 pm (Instagram; Facebook event)
Sign up here to get involved with a local organizing effort for reproductive justice, or email solcomm@uigeo.org
In Solidarity,
Graduate Employees’ Organization
809 S. 5th St., Geneva Room
Champaign, IL 61820
Email: geo@uigeo.org
The Graduate Employees’ Organization, AFT/IFT Local 6300, AFL-CIO, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, represents approximately 2,700 Teaching and Graduate Assistants on the UIUC Campus. In November 2009 and in February 2018, over 1,000 GEO members and allies participated in a strike to secure a fair contract and more accessible UIUC campus. With an active presence in the community, the GEO continues to work for high-quality and accessible public education in Illinois.
For more information, please contact geo@uigeo.org. More information can also be found on GEO’s website at www.uiucgeo.org.
Twitter: @geo_uiuc
Facebook: @uigeo @geosolcomm
Instagram: @geo_uiuc