abortion rights are workers’ rights.

Abortion rights are workers rights. Academia is often a hostile place for both parents and pregnant people. In addition to the health risks pregnant people face, workplace discrimination and an overall lack of support is also commonplace. Bodily autonomy is one’s most basic right as a person. As people, it is among our most basic rights to be able to choose if and when we would like to become parents. Our workplaces must be committed to honoring this right by providing necessary support for both parents and those who choose not to become parents.

As a union and workers’ movement, AFT Academics is committed to making sure abortion care is accessible to all people who may need it. Workers deserve access to all types of medical care–including reproductive healthcare and abortion–safely, privately, and with dignity. In order to reflect the changing availability of access to safe abortion, we call for our employers to redouble their commitment to providing holistic healthcare by increasing paid time off, increasing available sick leave, and increasing workers’ wages to cover potential costs arising from the need for out of state travel.

We are further aware that abortion rights do not exist in a vacuum. Thomas’ concurrence states our right to marry and be with the partners we choose (defined by Obergefell v. Hodges, Lawrence v. Texas) are future targets for the Supreme Court. The right to marry people outside one’s race (as defined in Loving v. Virginia) was decided on similar grounds to Roe v. Wade, and is in danger as well. With its current right-wing super majority and unchecked power, the Supreme Court could very well target not only these rights, but workers rights, environmental protections, protections from discrimination, and criminalization of our daily existence.

This most recent attack on bodily autonomy is unacceptable, as will be the future attacks on our existing rights and protections. And so, in response to our new post-Roe reality, we have compiled a number of resources to help abortion seekers and allies access and advocate for their needs. We hope that these resources can support you as you carry the struggle for dignity, autonomy, and protection back to your own communities and workplaces.