White Abortion Laws: Racial Motivations And Hidden Agendas

The topic of abortion laws in the US is a highly contested issue, with a history rooted in white supremacy and the exploitation of Black women. Today, abortion restrictions disproportionately impact communities of color, with Black, Latino, and Indigenous women facing greater barriers to accessing reproductive healthcare. This is due to systemic racism and economic injustices that limit their access to quality healthcare and safe communities. The recent wave of anti-abortion legislation has been linked to white extinction anxiety and carries forward a long tradition of white people controlling the reproduction of people of color. This issue is particularly salient for white non-college women, who are a key demographic for politicians on both sides of the debate.

Abortion laws are rooted in white supremacy

Historical Context

Abortion laws in the United States have a long and racist history, dating back to the ideologies of slavery and colonial America. During the 19th century, abortions were fairly common and could be obtained with the help of midwives until the point of foetal movement. However, dynamics surrounding abortion changed as America's elites began to fear a rising tide of immigrants and the reproductive freedom of newly emancipated slaves.

White Supremacy and Abortion

The anti-abortion movement, at its core, has always been about upholding white supremacy and consolidating power. By the late 1850s, a surgeon named Horatio Robinson Storer, a leader of the anti-abortion movement, pushed the American Medical Association (AMA) to delegitimize midwives and enforce abortion bans. Storer and other popular white physicians like J. Marion Sims and Joseph DeLee wanted to "monopolize" the field of obstetrics and gynecology. They formed a medical smear campaign against women, particularly Black midwives, to thwart their work in reproductive health care. In their writings, they described midwives as "barbaric" and "unhygienic" and abortion procedures as "immoral".

Impact on Black Women

The historical reality of the anti-abortion movement being rooted in white supremacy has had a detrimental impact on Black women. Due to the rise of the abolition movement, white physicians wrote about the need for white women to "spread their loins" and reproduce to maintain white dominance. This resulted in the exploitation of Black women's bodies and the placement of women's bodies in service to men. Additionally, skilled Black midwives represented competition for white men entering the practice of medicine, and their work in reproductive healthcare was seen as a threat. As a result, gynecologists pushed women out of the field by lobbying for laws banning midwifery and abortion, undercutting women's reproductive health and driving qualified Black women out of medical services.

Modern Context

The connection between the anti-abortion movement and racism continues to have implications in modern times. In a diverse and multiracial America, there are fears among some that white Americans will be displaced numerically. This has led to a rise in white grievance politics and efforts to restrict abortion access, with the belief that limiting abortion will force middle- and upper-class white women to bear more white children. This has resulted in abortion bans and restrictions that disproportionately impact Black women and communities of color, further entrenching systemic racism and economic injustice.

Anti-abortion efforts are about maximising wealth and consolidating power

The end of slavery brought about a new threat to the established power structure: skilled Black midwives. These women represented competition to white men entering the practice of medicine and challenged the self-image of the profession. Male gynecologists responded by lobbying state legislatures to ban midwifery and prohibit abortions, claiming that midwifery was a degrading form of medical practice. This was an explicit effort to destroy midwifery and promote white supremacy. Gynecologists desired financial gains, recognition, and a monopoly on women's bodies for male doctors.

The American Medical Association (AMA) contributed to this cause by excluding women and Black people from membership, and hospitals barred African Americans from admission and practice. The exclusion of Black people from the medical profession and the restriction of abortion access served to maximise wealth and consolidate power for white men in the medical profession.

Today, anti-abortion efforts continue to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities, as well as people living with low incomes. The overturning of Roe v. Wade has made it even more difficult for those with limited resources to access abortion care. The financial costs of abortion, including travel, childcare, and lost wages, create additional barriers for those with low incomes. Furthermore, abortion restrictions and bans fall more heavily on people of colour due to their systematic exclusion from economic opportunity.

Corporate money also plays a role in shaping abortion laws, as anti-abortion lawmakers receive campaign donations from well-known corporations. These lawmakers write and pass restrictive abortion laws, limiting women's reproductive choices and maximising their own wealth and power.

Abortion laws disproportionately harm marginalised communities

The denial of bodily autonomy is nothing new for people of colour. Enslaved Black women were raped and forced to carry children, while their descendants faced involuntary sterilisation throughout the 20th century. Native American, Puerto Rican, and other women of colour have endured similar horrors.

Abortion restrictions also have a detrimental impact on the mental health of marginalised communities. Women who were denied abortions reported higher stress and anxiety, lower self-esteem, and lower life satisfaction. The same systemic factors that make unplanned pregnancies more likely—abuse during childhood, intimate partner violence, low socioeconomic status—also increase the risk for mental health problems. Marginalised communities are also less likely to seek support from formal sources such as the police, hospitals, or mainstream organisations if they experience intimate partner violence.

The economic impact of abortion restrictions falls heavily on marginalised communities. People seeking abortions commonly spend thousands of dollars on transportation, lodging, childcare, and time off work to travel and obtain treatment. About half of those who have abortions live below the federal poverty line, with women of colour experiencing some of the greatest economic inequities.

The impact of abortion laws on marginalised communities is further exacerbated by the inaccessibility of safe abortions. In the US, the maternal mortality rate for Black women is 2.9 times higher than for White women. Abortion bans will undoubtedly increase maternal mortality, with research showing that a total abortion ban would increase pregnancy-related deaths by 21% overall and by 33% for Black people.

The history of abortion and midwifery bans in the US is rooted in white supremacy and the exploitation of Black women. Prior to the Civil War, abortion and contraceptives were legal in the US and used by Indigenous women and those who had sailed to the US from Europe. Reproductive healthcare was provided by female midwives, half of whom were Black. However, after the end of slavery, skilled Black midwives represented competition for white men who wanted to enter the practice of childbirth delivery. Successful racist and misogynistic smear campaigns described Black midwives as unhygienic, barbarous, and dangerous. As a result, gynecologists pushed women out of the field of reproductive health by lobbying state legislatures to ban midwifery and prohibit abortions.

The fight for justice in reproductive healthcare and equality in abortion access is far from over. It is crucial to address the deeply rooted social, cultural, and economic barriers that make it difficult for people from marginalised communities to exercise their reproductive rights.

Abortion laws are a means of controlling the reproduction of women of colour

During the time of slavery, Black women were forced to work and their children were sold off to slavery. Sojourner Truth, in her famous 1851 speech, "Ain't I A Woman?", highlighted the sexual exploitation of Black women and the sale of Black children. This was human trafficking in its American form, and it lasted for centuries.

Following the abolition of slavery, skilled Black midwives represented competition for white men who wanted to enter the practice of childbirth delivery. Male gynecologists claimed midwifery was degrading and unhygienic, and they sought to monopolize the industry. Successful racist and misogynistic smear campaigns against Black midwives were cleverly designed to achieve legal reform. As a result, Black women were pushed out of the field of reproductive health, and white men gained a monopoly over women's bodies.

Today, abortion restrictions and bans disproportionately harm communities of colour, who already face systemic racism and economic injustice. Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities, as well as people living with low incomes, face greater barriers in accessing high-quality, affordable healthcare. For example, 23% of Latinas and 13% of Black women aged 15-49 have no health insurance, compared to 8% of White women in the same age group.

Additionally, there are racial disparities in contraceptive care. Black women living with low incomes are more likely than White women to report being pressured by a clinician to use a contraceptive. Latinas and Black women are also more likely to experience contraceptive failure and to be advised by healthcare professionals to limit their childbearing.

Furthermore, abortion stigma is experienced differently by women of colour compared to White women. While quantitative studies have found that women of colour experience abortion stigma at lower levels than White women, qualitative analyses suggest that unique aspects of abortion stigma, such as isolation, may be higher for women of colour.

In conclusion, abortion laws and restrictions have been used as a means of controlling the reproduction of women of colour, perpetuating systemic racism and economic injustice.

Abortion laws are driven by white extinction anxiety

The recent wave of anti-abortion legislation in the United States is rooted in what social scientists and anti-racism activists call "white extinction anxiety" or "fear of white genetic annihilation". This is the fear that white people will become a minority, stripped of their race-based privilege and power. While some dismiss this idea as a conspiracy theory, the correlation between demographic projections, fear of white genetic annihilation, and the recent wave of abortion bills suggests that this fear is a catalyst for public policy.

Historical Context

Since the nation's formation, white people have controlled the lives and reproduction of people of color through genocide, chattel slavery, and the criminalization and mass incarceration of Black and Brown people. This history of white supremacy continues to shape reproductive rights today.

Demographic Changes

In 1950, white people constituted 90% of the U.S. population, but by 2023, this had dropped to 60%. It is projected that by 2050, white people will be the minority, with people of color making up the majority of the population. This demographic shift has been referred to as a "nightmarish prediction" for some white people.

Political Responses

White extinction anxiety has been leveraged by politicians to garner support, particularly among conservative and right-wing voters. For example, Senator Lindsey Graham expressed concern about "demographic dilution" at the 2012 Republican convention, stating that Republicans were "losing badly" in the "demographics race".

Abortion Laws as a Response to Anxiety

The recent wave of hyper-punitive abortion legislation, such as the near-total bans in Alabama and Georgia, is seen as a response to white extinction anxiety. Of the 212 lawmakers in Alabama and Georgia who voted for these restrictive abortion laws, 211 are white. These laws are driven by the fear of genetic dominance by Black and Brown people, who are seen as having the "capacity to genetically annihilate White people".

Impact on Women of Color

The anti-abortion laws are part of a long-standing tradition of white patriarchal control over the lives and reproduction of women, particularly women of color. These laws take ownership of women's reproductive rights, forcibly breeding white women to produce more white babies and maintain white demographic dominance.

Systemic Racism in Healthcare

Abortion bans and restrictions harm all people who are or may become pregnant, but they disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities, as well as people living with low incomes, due to systemic racism and economic injustice. These communities already face significant barriers to accessing quality healthcare, and abortion bans further restrict their reproductive rights and autonomy.

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