Our Freedom Cannot be Overturned

A note from Lina Buffington, NSRH's Executive Director 🌻

While most of us have known that the present Supreme Court was poised to strike down Roe, which was further confirmed by the leak several weeks ago, the reality of the decision and the resulting shit storm of trigger laws and nightmare legislation to follow is still hard to swallow. During times like these, when it feels like our country is determined to move backwards rather than forwards in all areas concerning our civil rights (voting restrictions, inhumane immigration policies, criminalization of pregnant bodies, anti-trans laws, “Don’t Say Gay” bills, book banning…), it can feel overwhelming: It IS overwhelming. I certainly feel overwhelmed by it all and struggle to find some ray of hope, some inkling of opportunity to latch onto. I’m not going to lie, it has not been easy lately. 

What has become more and more clear to me is that the Supreme Court’s decision is not just about abortion. It is ultimately about domination and White male supremacy. It is about the many ways that our judicial and legal systems continue to fail us. It is about the ways that the bodies of Black, Brown, queer, female, and people of color are continuously used as political fodder to advance the agendas of the powerful few. This is why it is so critical for all of us who love the freedom to make the connections between our various struggles. It is critical that we push back against the “Pro-life” vs “Pro-choice” rhetoric because the fight for justice is all about love for life. 

That is what I hold onto, the knowledge that the work we are doing is rooted in love and in life. I think about Nina Simone’sAin’t Got No, I Got Life. Sometimes when we are at our lowest point all we can do is take stock of what we do have and push forward with that. We may not have Roe, but we will always have activists, and champions, and artists, and harbingers of joy. In times like these, I have to go back to the basics. I listen to music I enjoy, talk to people I love, sit with my face turned towards the sun, do something that brings me joy. Because, once the anger and sadness dissipate, the real core of why I do what I do is love and so I must reconnect with that. When I plug into that wellspring of love and joy I can rise above the bullshit and see a way through it, and that is ultimately what we MUST do. We must get through it because, while they may be able to overturn Roe, they CANNOT overturn our freedom.

At NSRH, we are committed to creating resources and tools to help our Members get through this so that they can continue to be a resource within their communities.

• We are training nurses in Abortion Care
• We are supporting the next generation of nurse leaders of color within the sector through the KE Future Nurse Leaders Fellowship
• We are creating online tools and resources to make training and information readily accessible 
• We are bringing together experts in Self-managed abortion and telehealth to help our members better understand these resources so that they can help their patients navigate this new landscape 
• We are building a community of amazing nursing students and professionals so that we can all support each other during these tough times
• We are in the preparing to launch an Abortion Nurse Corps Program that will connect nurses with clinics in desperate need of staffing support

All of this critical work that we are doing is rooted in our deep love and respect for the amazing community that we serve. It is that love and respect that will continue to propel us forward.