With the recent anniversary of the overturning Roe v. Wade, I was flooded with memories of the 2017 Women’s March. It was a momentous day and one of the largest protests ever. Nearly half a million people took to the streets of Washington, D.C., millions across the country, thousands here in Utah and over 4.5 million worldwide, all in dissent of the election of now-convicted felon Donald Trump. Women, men, people of all colors, sexual orientations and sexual identities took to the streets in support of, among other issues, women’s rights that were precariously placed under threat with his election. I was there and it was inspiring to see so many people come together in support of basic human rights.

We carried signs saying “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” and “My Body, My Choice.” Yet, with their decision two years ago, Trump’s extremely conservative Supreme Court ruled that women do not have control of their own bodies and that they do not have the same rights as men. History has proven our fears correct and we were right to march seven years ago and since because women’s rights are under attack. Trump and his Republican followers declared war on women and took aim.

At the first opportunity, Trump nominated the conservative judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. To ensure the confirmation, the Senate’s Republican majority voted to eliminate the previously required 60-vote minimum to approve Supreme Court justices, lowering it to a simple majority. Trump then proceeded to place two more conservative judges — Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — installing the extremely conservative and activist court we have today. Of note, Kavanaugh’s nomination was approved without a thorough investigation of sexual assault claims against him, not an encouraging move for women and their rights.

On June 24, 2022, with Trump having laid the groundwork, the critical concerns of everyone at that march came to pass. His court overturned Roe and eliminated the right of many women to have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Consequently, abortion is banned in 14 states with severe restrictions in others, thereby depriving millions of women of basic health care. Even our own state of Utah limits abortion health care to 18 weeks and may institute a near total ban with limited exceptions pending a legal challenge. We have returned to the dark ages with recurring stories of women forced to travel for life-saving care, and that’s only if they are fortunate enough to have the means and support to travel.

Those who feel threatened by women have plans bigger than overturning Roe. Their attacks on and efforts to control women and their bodies continue. Nearly every Senate Republican recently voted against giving women the legal right to access birth control. Although those claiming their support for such access provided excuses for voting against the bill, the only reason to do so is if such protections for women are, in fact, under threat. It didn’t stop there. Senate Republicans pushed their war on women and reproductive rights further, spilling into a war on families, by blocking a bill to protect in vitro fertilization.

Their supreme leader and convicted felon, Donald Trump, previously stated he was considering policies of restricting birth control, later walking it back, insisting he never has advocated for restrictions and never will. What are Americans to believe when he publicly stated he was “looking at” policies on birth control just earlier that day? I’ll tell you what — that they are coming for birth control, and if not banning it, restricting it. The votes in the Senate are very telling. Where will they stop in their efforts to control women: controlling what women can do with their bodies, how they live their lives, when they choose to have families? Having a baby changes the entire trajectory of a woman’s life, severely limiting her options and money-making potential, not to mention the effects of pregnancy and childbirth on the body. Women deserve the basic freedom to decide how they want to live their lives, what to do with their own bodies and when, if ever, to have children. Trump and his followers eliminated access to abortion in many parts of the country. There is no reason to believe they won’t institute a national abortion ban and target access to contraception.

We are done playing defense. We showed up for the Women’s March and we must show up every day now through election day. Vote, volunteer, talk to friends and neighbors about supporting President Joe Biden and Democrats down the ballot. Support politicians who support us. It’s time to end the war on women and take back our rights.

Charlotte Maloney writes social and political commentary, whose work has been published in newspapers throughout Utah, in Colorado and the New York Times. She holds a Bachelor of Science in business from the University of Utah and has a background in human resource management and library science.

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