Conservative elites use abortion as a “wedge issue”- a divisive political topic used to alienate and divide people. And they have used opposition to abortion as a way to build power to oppose a much broader agenda of issues– from funding for schools to universal healthcare. This is part of a deeper strategy to mobilize a bloc of white people who subscribe to the values of white Christian nationalism- the idea that America is a Christian nation and that the government should reflect conservative Christian values.
However, abortion wasn’t always the pet issue of the Right. They began coalescing power around abortion largely in racist backlash to the victories of the Civil Rights movement.
On this webinar, we heard from Loretta J. Ross- co-creator of the Reproductive Justice theory, Professor at Smith College, and expert on white supremacy, human rights, and calling in the calling out culture. Ross and SURJ leaders shared about the racist history of the “pro-life” movement, how the Reproductive Justice movement counters anti-abortion organizing with a social and racial justice analysis, and how we as white people can get involved in building power to fight back
