People, especially those who can give birth to a child, have been in a constant back and forth argument about having the choice to have or not have an abortion. 

Although Roe v. Wade was a big step in the reproductive rights movement, the idea of this choice of keeping or aborting a pregnancy goes back to before this impactful court decision. 

After the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) decision was made, reproductive rights were taken away from many people in the United States. This decision led many individuals to lose their reproductive rights including the choice to have an abortion or even the decision to use birth control to avoid the possibility of pregnancy.

This image connects to what is occurring today especially in the United States because, for many people, going to the voting polls and taking part in elections is the only way to protect their reproductive rights. The image above shows a woman at a voting poll with a speech bubble that says “This is now a part of my birth control routine…”

What first stood out to me from this image was the way in which the woman is being portrayed. Based on things like her posture or even the colors used for her clothing, it seems like she is stressed or concerned even about the impact of her vote. In a way, this can connect to all people who were impacted by the Dobbs v. Jackson court case decision because many people are tired of having to fight for their own reproductive rights. Before and even after Roe v. Wade, reproductive rights were constantly being challenged by the government whether at the state or federal level, and people, especially women, were already having to go to voting polls to make their voices heard. Eventually, this got tiring for many once it was evident that the government did not really pay much attention to what the people wanted. This same sense of exhaustion and hopelessness can be seen in this image and the way in which the woman is standing at the voting poll in a posture that makes it seem like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Going back to the colors of her clothing, for the most part these are all dark colors. The use of color for the clothing can reflect on the emotions being felt not only by the woman portrayed in this image, but by all people who are currently being impacted by Roe v. Wade being overturned. After the Dobb vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization court case, women around the country felt a sense of defeat and loss of hope. These dark colors connect to the dark times that people are going through now that they do not have access to reproductive rights that for many were considered to be lifesaving, whether it is from a medical complication or simply as a way to avoid having an unsafe abortion. 

Another part of this image that caught my attention is the speech bubble. This idea that voting is a reproductive right alone says a lot about the accessibility to reproductive rights here in the United States. The text in the image is portrayed in a way that at least for me, it leads to a sense of uncertainty and worry even. Specifically, the use of the ellipsis in the end leads me to wonder about the even longer list of thoughts that people have when voting, especially on topics regarding reproductive rights. Reproductive rights alone encompass many different areas and having to vote for all these rights alone to then potentially not be heard can be quite a lot to have on your mind. 

This post also leads me to reflect on the lack of access to this right for people of color in the United States. For white people, it is a normal thing to be able to do things like vote, but many communities of color are given certain obstacles that make voting inaccessible to them. 

Obstacles like making voting polls farther away from people of color or having fewer voting polls than in places that are mainly made up of white communities leads to the voices of people of color to be ignored. Reproductive rights, before Roe v. Wade was overturned, were not as accessible to many people of color, but now that the case is overturned, women of color are left with few, if any, reproductive rights. This in itself is quite harmful because it leads many individuals to take part in unsafe abortions which can negatively impact a person’s health physically, mentally and emotionally. Going past the impact that this can have on a person’s health, limiting these rights, especially to women of color, has led to the deaths of many people who were only trying to ask for help, but instead were denied and left with options that were not safe for them at all. 

Overall, this social media post opens up the floor to the topic of reproductive rights, but it also reflects on the inequality seen in the voting system and the impact that this lack of choice can have towards people of color and their own reproductive rights.