the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
May 6, 2024
A Catholic nun was interviewed on National Public Radio as she worked to collect signatures on a ballot proposal to end the ban on abortion in Missouri. She did not give her full name to avoid issues with the church hierarchy, but she summed up her views in this way: “I want to put a sticker on the car that says, ‘Don’t like abortion? Don’t have one!”
Organizers in Missouri just turned in twice the number of signatures needed on May 3. It looks like the Right to Abortion will be on the ballot in Missouri—a “red” state whose voters typically back Republicans. Similarly, on May 2, an abortion-rights initiative turned in more than enough signatures in South Dakota to try for November ballot status in another “red” state.
In Florida, a six-week abortion ban went into effect on May 1st. More than a million signatures have been collected by thousands of volunteers in Florida to put an abortion rights measure on the ballot this November. Florida will be a real test because this undemocratic state requires a ballot measure to achieve 60% voter support to pass.
In Maryland and New York, proposals on abortion rights have already secured a spot on the ballot in November.
Signatures for ballot initiatives on abortion rights are also being collected in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, and Nevada.
In Iowa, Maine, and Pennsylvania, measures that started in the state legislature to protect abortion rights aim to be on the November ballot.
It is clear that the majority of the population is in favor of women’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. In 2022, there were seven states where women’s right to choose was on the ballot. In all seven states—Michigan, Ohio, Vermont, California, Kentucky, Kansas, and Montana. In all seven states—“red” states and “blue“ states—people voted in favor of abortion rights.
In this so-called democracy, the U.S. Supreme Court took away what the population wanted by right by overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. It is ridiculous that since the fall of Roe, so many signatures and votes have had to take place for women to try and hold on to the gains won by the fights of the women’s movement of the 1960s and 1970s. But it is also impressive that so many women and their supporters are ready to fight for women’s reproductive rights!