In wake of supreme court overturning Roe vs Wade, Meghan Markle, The Duchess of Sussex, the ever supporter and voice of women rights has put her perspective alongside her new found friend and fellow well known feminist Gloria Steinem.
Gloria and Meghan became friends once the former popular suits star and UN political advocate for women participation urged her to help her make phone calls to various people urging them to vote through Michelle Obama organization of “when we all vote”. And as usual with royal news,as along as the Empress, Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex is concerned, it became world news debate and helped spread the cause and more people registered to vote.
Now through this Vogue interview thanks to Award winning journalist and founder of Independent Media company ‘News Not Noise ‘, Jessica Yelling, we learn that Meghan together with Gloria have been formulating a plan to get Equal Rights Amendment ratified. Wonderful indeed!!
In respect to Roe vs Wade, Jessica Yelling decided to moderate a conversation between the two Icons about their choice, realities of America before the overturning and after, and where the Women go from here. Sure enough if you or your closest was loosing hope here is why you should Not yet,as Yelling is reminded that ” change start with simple actions,and deadly setbacks sometimes precede transformational change.”
Here are some of Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex perspectives
On the impact of the rulling ___
This is having a very real impact on women’s bodies and lives starting now. Women are already sharing stories of how their physical safety is being put in danger. Women with resources will travel to get an abortion, those without might attempt to give themselves one at tremendous risk. Some will have to source abortion pills from unregulated pharmacies. Others who are pregnant and find themselves in a medical emergency will be at the mercy of doctors and lawyers to determine if a procedure that is needed to save her life can even be done at all. What does this tell women? It tells us that our physical safety doesn’t matter, and as a result that we don’t matter. But we do. Women matter. And this is one of the reasons that I called Gloria immediately. Because in all of it, she reminds me that when you have anger, you have to channel that energy into something that makes a difference. That’s what activism is. It’s about how we show up.
On meeting Gloria Steinem for the first time and making cold calls to voters____
I was thrilled. I was nervous too. I thought, Oh my goodness, how am I going to be in front of Gloria Steinem? The [presidential] election was coming up soon and we both knew the value of women and everyone getting out to vote. The ripple effect of elections matters so much, and that’s what we’re seeing now, unfortunately.
Impact of ruling on Black women and what specifically worries her ____
These issues are systemic, interconnected, and preventable. Women of color and especially Black women are most impacted by these decisions because most of us don’t have the same access to health care, economic opportunity, mental health resources…the list goes on. It’s difficult to overstate what this decision is going to do to these communities.
On Court correcting the “error” of allowing same sex marriage, and even contraception ____
Absolutely. We saw it in plain terms with Justice Thomas’s concurring opinion. This is a blueprint for reversing rights. The ruling is a signal about the future of same-sex marriage, contraception access, and many fundamental rights to privacy. It feels like the tip of the iceberg and is part of why people feel so scared. We have to channel that fear into action. We can start this November in the midterms. I know hearing that feels so repetitive, but we have to vote, every time, from local elections to state and national elections.
On what can be done,is it voting for pro_choice candidate or where should people focus their attention on??____
It’s a much larger conversation about why for years, for decades, we’re fighting to get a constitutional amendment put through [the Equal Rights Amendment] that makes it clear that women can be treated equally, and how it is completely nonsensical that that’s even something we’re still fighting for. And Gloria, you know, we’ve talked about how to continue to push that through. I think now is probably the time more than ever before.
Normalizing conversation about abortion and women’s health ___
I think about how fortunate I felt to be able to have both of my children. I know what it feels like to have a connection to what is growing inside of your body. What happens with our bodies is so deeply personal, which can also lead to silence and stigma, even though so many of us deal with personal health crises. I know what miscarrying feels like, which I’ve talked about publicly. The more that we normalize conversation about the things that affect our lives and bodies, the more people are going to understand how necessary it is to have protections in place.
This is about women’s physical safety. It’s also about economic justice, individual autonomy, and who we are as a society. Nobody should be forced to make a decision they do not want to make, or is unsafe, or puts their own life in jeopardy. Frankly, whether it’s a woman being put in an unthinkable situation, a woman not ready to start a family, or even a couple who deserve to plan their family in a way that makes the most sense for them, it’s about having a choice. It’s interesting that here you’re talking to two women: one who chose to give birth happily, and one who chose not to give birth happily. And we’re both prospering because we were able to make our own choices. Incredible.
On Men who supports reproductive rights _____
Men need to be vocal in this moment and beyond because these are decisions that affect relationships, families, and communities at large. They may target women, but the consequences impact all of us. My husband and I talked about that a lot over the past few days. He’s a feminist too.
And his reaction last week was guttural, like mine. I know that for so many women right now, there is a sentiment of despair. But again, we have to band together and not wallow. We have to do the work.
Does this moment require anything___
This moment requires unity—really listening to people, understanding the Constitution was written at a time when women were second-class citizens. We’re not. Certain things need to change. I think it’s equally about honoring the people who’ve been doing the work long before us, like Gloria. I’m grateful that I’m holding a baton right there next to her and that we will continue to be doing this work together.
I always look at things with the undercurrent of hope. If you are someone who truly believes that there can be something better, if you’re someone who sees injustice, you have a choice: You can sit there and be complacent and watch it, or you can say, “What can I do to get us to the other side of this?” That’s another reason why I called Gloria, because I knew what I was looking for. What do we do? How do we do it? How do we support each other? How do we get the necessary changes across the line? What we need, in this moment, is to start with hope.
For more insight and full conversation visit Vogue website . The link is below as you will get more details about the interview
https://www.vogue.com/article/gloria-steinem-duchess-of-sussex-jessica-yellin-roe-v-wade?s=09https://www.vogue.com/article/gloria-steinem-duchess-of-sussex-jessica-yellin-roe-v-wade
