Is Discrimination the Rule or the Exception?
As the U.S. Supreme Court reviews abortion cases that could overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion, there is a lot of attention being paid to abortion rightsbut not enough emphasis on the full range of reproductive health and rights issues. Every pregnant Black person faces systemic racism that makes us three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women. When our children are born, we face the everyday reality of battling racism and the toll it takes on Black lives. This past year, the deadly impact of racial discrimination couldnt have been more evident as the pandemic devastated our communities, with Black and Latinx people accounting for nearly 43% of COVID-19 deaths. As if thats not bad enough, Black and Latinx women have paid the economic price for the pandemic, bearing the brunt of the she-cession.