As We Wait
As you can imagine it's a really tense time at the Pink House right now. For real, we are literally sitting here waiting for the axe to drop. Keeping our spirits up, let alone a smile on our faces, is no easy task these days, but y'all know that we do what we gotta do!
The clinic staff have a lot on their shoulders already but since the leak of the SCOTUS draft the antis have targeted them even harder when they arrive for work every morning. These are a few of the callous insults the antis shout at our staff. "Have you found a new job yet? Better hurry there isn't much time left." "I don't think killing babies is in high demand right now, do you have any other skills?" "What are you going to do when this place closes? Work at a funeral home so you can still be near death?" Our amazing staff just march on past without responding! Us? Not so much...
Some of the patients, much like the general public, aren't even aware of what is about to happen. Many of those that do realize that Roe is likely to be overturned still haven't grasped the entirety of the ramifications.
From those that do know we get a lot of questions about what will happen to the clinic. While we can't answer that at this time the one thing, we do say is that they will no longer be able to provide abortion access to the people in Mississippi that need their services. That's usually followed by "What are people going to do?" There really aren't any good answers.
Sure, there are great organizations working tirelessly to fund abortions and provide practical support such as travel, childcare, meals...but, did YOU know that? Do YOU know how to contact these groups?
How can these organizations let people know that they even exist? Take out an ad? Some of the most conservative states are already introducing laws to make "assisting with an abortion" a crime and that could include funding. When the need for their services in (at least) 12 states becomes exponential their funds will be depleted and where will more funding come from?
Though the immediate threat is in 12 states 37 states stand to lose access in a very short time. How will the clinics in the remaining 13 states deal with this onslaught of patients? The questions are endless, the answers are few.
So, what do the Pink House Defenders do as we wait for the Dobbs decision to drop? We do what we've always done. We are still greeting patients and walking them safely to the door. We are still "pushing back" at the antis. And we are there for one another when the pressure of all of this sometimes gets to be a bit much.
What does the future of the Pink House Defenders/We Engage look like? Right now, we haven't had the time to put a lot of thought into that, we out here doing all the things. But if you know us, ya already know that "throwing in the towel" is NOT a likely option. There is still work to be done. So, stay tuned y'all!
#PinkHouseDefenders #WeEngage #GetUpStandUp