I believe that all people deserve access to healthcare, including legal, safe abortions. But as a man, my place is not to tell women what they should or shouldn’t do when it comes to their reproductive rights. Instead, I should voice my support for choice, and for access.
That is what I am doing.
In the United States, overturning Roe v. Wade is the culmination of a nearly 40-year assault on women's rights — especially reproductive rights — by anti-choice activists. Despite the precedent being reaffirmed by high courts multiple times over the past four decades, despite widespread popular support for a women's right to choose, and despite mountains of evidence that making abortion illegal will have tragic and deadly consequences for women, that right is about to be stripped away. In addition to making abortion illegal in many states, which the Supreme Court’s draft decision will do, there is even talk about enacting a nationwide ban, curtailing access to birth control, or challenging other privacy-based rights. All of this is terrifying, and regardless of where you stand on the subject, women should be the ones making decisions for themselves.
In addition to clearly stating where I stand, today, PartnerHero is donating $5,000 to Planned Parenthood. We will also look at our existing benefits and see what more can be done to support reproductive rights and care.
Abortion is a fraught topic and there are many people who believe that is it never a moral or acceptable choice. I know that not everyone will agree with my stance, including some at PartnerHero, which operates in some countries where abortion remains illegal. But let’s be clear: this ruling will be disastrous for both the right to bodily autonomy and to women’s, trans, and nonbinary healthcare.
I strongly believe the decision to have an abortion is a personal choice, and that anyone with the ability to become pregnant should have the power to choose what’s right for them.
Shervin
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