On June 24th, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in favour of Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks.
This callous decision effectively ended the constitutional right to an abortion for millions of US women, and people who can get pregnant.
By removing this right, SCOTUS has made it possible for states to implement their own rules on abortion. Half of them are expected to introduce new restrictions or bans, while thirteen have “trigger laws” that have automatically made abortion illegal.
Abortion is a basic healthcare need for the millions of people who can become pregnant. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what’s best for themselves and their families, including when it comes to ending a pregnancy. This decision has dire consequences for individual health and safety, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions.
Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all Americans. Even if you live in a state where abortion rights are upheld, access to safe medical procedures shouldn’t be determined by location, and it shouldn't be the privilege of a small few. ~ Source
This is where we, as podcasters, can show our support, and push back on this horrendous ruling.
Industry leader Arielle Nissenblatt, along with several volunteers, has created an excellent resource and call to action for podcasters everywhere. The ask is simple:
So how can you get involved?
Record a pre-roll or post-roll for your podcast
Use the Google document shared by Arielle for guidelines on what to say
Add to your podcast(s) and update
Highlight some of the external resources in the document as your call to action
It’s up to you whether you record a pre-roll or post-roll, and what episodes it goes in. I’ve created a pre-roll for all episodes of Pod Chat, both past and yet to come. You can listen to it below.
One of podcasting’s strengths is its ability to offer something the mainstream media and other outlets, who are often diluted because of political sponsors and owners, can’t.
And that’s our unedited, unrestricted voices.
Let’s use them, and make them so loud that there is no doubt where we stand when it comes to supporting the people this despicable ruling will affect.