If you are pregnant in Somersworth – my hometown – you are physically closer to three crisis pregnancy centers than you are to the nearest provider of reproductive health care.
That’s three places closer that will intentionally misinform and withhold information about your constitutionally protected right to an abortion. That dramatically increases the chances of a pregnant person ending up with less access to reproductive care. The same cannot be said about Concord, our capital, and many other cities in New Hampshire that have one or more centers to go to if they need or want an abortion.
That’s inequitable and that’s an injustice to so many folks on the margins of our state. It’s not enough just to claim support for reproductive rights if you aren’t actively fighting to enfranchise all Granite Staters – no matter their ZIP code, race, gender identity or income – with access to these rights.
Twenty-five years ago a group of black women took out a full-page ad in the Washington Post calling for the reproductive rights movement to intersect social justice and center the most vulnerable populations at the heart of the fight for reproductive freedoms.
We all know that reproductive rights are on the ballot in September in our Executive Council race, but few are putting in the effort to center Granite Staters that face systemic barriers to accessing those rights.
With three Concord lawyers all making their case for this seat, little can be heard about reproductive justice. One of them has made it clear they’re a rubber stamp for Chris Sununu’s conservative, anti-choice pick for Supreme Court justice, and another has made thousands lobbying for corporate health care interests in our State House. But at the end of the day, what matters most is their experience in their communities.
If we don’t elect someone who comes from and lives in a place where the inequities of our state deal a cruel hand to folks in Somersworth, or Farmington, or Unity, then we won’t have the strongest possible Executive Council with the experience to advocate for reproductive justice for all.
Two years ago I co-founded the Tri-City Reproductive Justice 4 All coalition to address these concerns locally and bring folks from Planned Parenthood, Equality Health Center, Fight4Her and the Joan G. Lovering Health Center to engage with my community.
I’m running a campaign designed to give the social, economic and political power back to communities – all communities – in our state. As the next executive councilor for District 2, I’ll fight for reproductive justice for everyone.
(Emmett Soldati of Somersworth is the owner of Teatotaller and is opening a cafe in Concord. He is a candidate for Executive Council in District 2.)