“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”

Along with millions of people who fight for what is right, Abortion Care Network is mourning the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, feeling gratitude for the decades of work she did, and grappling with a “justice” system that is not just.

We are grateful for the ways in which Ginsburg fought and stood for gender equality, voting rights, immigration, health care, and more. She was clear and vocal when it came to abortion access, affirming time and again that the ability to control our reproductive lives is core to our very freedom. We can not ignore the fact that she did not always show up for indigenous sovereignty or racial justice in the same ways. We grieve a courageous, passionate, imperfect person who never should have had to shoulder the burden of upholding our human rights from within the US Supreme Court.

The fact that the human and civil rights of so many people could depend on any one person illustrates how deeply unjust our justice system is. Our country is mourning far too many lives lost to a global pandemic. We are reckoning with a government that routinely violates the human rights of those it is meant to serve. And though abortion remains legal, it is more restricted than ever. Legal frameworks have never promised the justice and freedom we are fighting for. We need more, and it’s up to us to change it.

Creating a more just world requires every single one of us: working in clinics, in our communities, through existing systems, and to overcome existing systems.

• Today is National Voter Registration Day. The transformation we need will not happen at the ballot box alone, but elections are one of many ways to make change in this country. State and local representatives, judges, and referenda are all on ballots this November. Our collective work to be educated about and engage in local, state, and national “justice” systems is paramount to our goal of legally recognized human rights protections. If you’re eligible to vote, get registered here, and share with your networks.
• Due to COVID-19, America is facing a critical shortage of poll workers. Millions of Americans — particularly voters with disabilities, rural folks, and those who lack reliable mail service — continue to rely on in-person voting to cast a ballot. Traditionally, poll workers are over 60 and thus especially vulnerable to complications if they contract COVID-19. This has resulted in a critical need for poll workers who are willing and able to assist with in-person voting on and before Election Day. To find out more please check your local election board or search here.
• For honest discussions of RBG’s legacy and of where we go from here, check out special coverage (several articles and a podcast) from Rewire News.

The future make-up of the Supreme Court is unclear right now, but we are clear-eyed in our dedication to abortion care providers and their patients. And while ACN’s work is focused on ensuring that every person has access to exceptional abortion care, we know that no one is truly free until everyone is able to safely create and raise the families they dream of.

Fall is a time of change. It is a season in which nature invites us to be in the moment, appreciate the beauty in transformation, to accept that some things end, and to acknowledge but not become immobilized by what is to come. We are sitting with these lessons as we watch the leaves change color, as our movements collectively grieve the passing of Justice Ginsburg, as uprisings for racial justice continue, and as election day approaches.

Wherever this finds you, we hope you are also ready for change.