For the Younger Generations, the Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hits Different
by Annie Bennett
Younger millennials and older gen-z individuals do not know a world without Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg or “the Notorious RBG” or Roe v. Wade. This is unprecedented for us and we are terrified. I’ve traveled to countries where abortion is illegal nationwide and that is not what I want for myself or my children. Those my age have had the luxury of being only exposed to backdoor abortions from a distance, unlike my elders who witnessed it firsthand. The prospect of a world where the government gets to control my body is not only terrifying, but anti-American. Meaning, the United States prides itself on freedom, and abolishing choice unequivocally goes against that value.
The fight of those before me, particularly women, is awe-inspiring. Thank you to the second-wave feminists who fought tooth and nail for legal access to abortion care so that I would not have to. Unfortunately, that is no longer quite the case… The right to choose is under siege by the current administration and the future Supreme Court. I write this on behalf of those who can’t and for the generations to come, to protect my peers from a world beyond imagination or “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Regardless of your views on abortion, I insist that you push back against Trump’s decision to nominate a new supreme court justice before the election. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a champion of women’s rights and gender equality, beyond the reproductive justice movement. If you claim you are pro-life because of a reason other than sexism, you should support her work in this capacity and reject the government’s decision to ignore her dying wish. In exchange for a life of service, all she asked in return was to not be replaced by the current president. Furthermore, Republicans were given the privilege of setting the precedent in 2016 by allowing Trump to fill the vacancy on SCOTUS after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, while President Barack Obama was in office. Now, Republicans have the responsibility to do the same, even when it doesn’t work for their direct benefit. Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, and more officials have the power to make this decision and are directly contradicting their words from the last election cycle. More than half of states have already started early voting, and we should thus let the American people decide the next president, who would then appoint the next justice.
If you take away one point from this piece, I hope it is this: the fetuses you are defending do not know the terror and fear that those carrying them feel at the prospect of birthing them against their will. An unintended pregnancy would mean putting my dreams on hold. People in my age group are just starting to see and hear the horrors of a world without Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. We aren’t prepared to reckon with this reality, and we are begging for your support in honoring her legacy.
