“Your Body, My Choice” and Other Rage Bait

by Helena Lovick | Nov 19, 2024 | Abortions Rights

-Great Falls, Mont.

In the summer of 2018, Trump paid a visit to Great Falls in an effort to bolster the Senate campaign of Matt Rosendale. The rally was accompanied by a group of about four hundred anti-Trump protesters. As the rally attendees and protestors shouted back and forth, the MAGA crowd was joined by neo-nazis waving white supremacist flags, including the “national flag of Kekistan.” In a disturbing foreshadowing of the insurrectionists of January 6th, it was clear the white supremacists were aligned with Trump.

With Trump’s win this November, the far right crowd is energized again. 

In a skin crawling rallying cry, trolls are posting “your body, my choice” and other misogynistic attacks on social media. The likely originator of the “your body, my choice” slogan, Nick Fuentes, reportedly claims it was a ‘joke’. Hahahahhaa. So funny that men love rape jokes. As Nicky gets to deal with the consequences of his actions, what the hell is wrong with people cheering this on?

As explained in a Vox Op-Ed:

“The spike in sexist hate is a reflection of one of the dominant narratives of the election: that it was essentially a triumph of men over women. Trump tailored much of his campaign to disaffected American men — especially young men, many of whom feel they are victims of discrimination and who have expressed resentment against feminist movements like Me Too. For a lot of these men, the election feels like vindication, and for some, it’s more than that: a chance to put women back in their place.”

Nothing screams “protecting women” like letting them know they have no control over their own bodies. 

As disturbing as the post-election joyous celebration by the worst people is, it’s not a surprise. 

In addition to the anti-feminist backlash, we have seen a rise in the visibility of white supremacists, anti-immigrant sentiments, anti-LGBTQ attacks, and the list goes on. And Montana is certainly not immune. White supremacists have plastered their stickers all over Great Falls multiple times as we’ve previously reported here and here. The Republican majorities that Montanans keep electing, love passing laws to restrict women, the LGBTQ community, more!  All of these flavors of hate, just part of the shit sandwich emboldened by electing bigots. 

Sometimes the worst people win.

Sometimes the bullies don’t get the comeuppance they deserve. But our push back makes a difference. I was at that 2018 Trump protest. I remember my disgust when I saw those flags and I started shouting and pointing at them, “nazis, nazis!” And when other protesters joined in shouting down those white supremacists, do you know what those cowards did? They quickly rolled up their flags. With Trump returning to office they think they can come out of the shadows. We don’t have to accept that. Hate has no home here.

What’s at Stake with CI-128?

by Helena Lovick | Sep 4, 2024 | Abortions Rights

On the first night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, women took the stage to share their devastating experiences of abortion access in America. 

Hadley Duvall, a 22-year-old who became pregnant as a child after she was raped by her stepfather, has called for exceptions to Kentucky’s abortion ban for sexual assault survivors.

 

“At age 12, I took my first pregnancy test, and it was positive,” Duvall told the DNC crowd. “That was the first time I was ever told, ‘You have options.’ I can’t imagine not having a choice, but today, that’s the reality for many women and girls across the country because of Donald Trump’s abortion bans.”

 

Kaitlyn Joshua spoke about being denied miscarriage treatment when she was pregnant with her second child. “Two emergency rooms sent me away. Because of Louisiana’s abortion ban, no one would confirm that I was miscarrying,” she said.

 

Appearing alongside her husband, Zurawski said delayed pregnancy care threatened her life. “Every time I share our story, my heart breaks for the baby girl we wanted so desperately, for the doctors and nurses who couldn’t help me deliver safely, for Josh who feared he’d lose me too,” she said.

This is post-Roe America. 

How are we doing in Montana?

In Montana, abortion access remains legal. But our GOP majority legislature is filled with extremists that work hand in hand with our Republican Governor. These anti-abortion creeps want to control women so badly. The Montana GOP has repeatedly put the squeeze on our rights with invasive anti-choice bill after bill. As we mentioned in an earlier blog post, our excellent State Constitution and impartial State Supreme Court continue to work in our favor. Even though it costs Montana taxpayers ridiculous sums of money to defend the unconstitutional bills passed by the legislature, for now Montana courts continue to impartially and fairly interpret our State Constitution and throw out these unconstitutional laws (see here and here). 

But what if our court is overtaken by right-wing wing extremists? 

Dark money groups and our right-wing right wing extremist legislators are working tirelessly to undermine and infiltrate our court with justices that will approve their unconstitutional laws. In reality, we are one bad election away from losing our rights. 

Vote Yes on CI-128 to Protect Our Rights

The risk to our rights based on a bad election cycle is why I support CI-128. This constitutional initiative would amend our State Constitution to preserve Montanans rights to abortion care. You can see the ballot language below. As the Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights group supporting and informing citizens about this constitutional initiative have stated “decisions around pregnancy are deeply personal and should be made between us, our families, and our health care providers. Not the government. Voting “Yes” ensures that right.”