Pat Taub
Friday morning, I was driving with the car radio on, blissfully contemplating my summer weekend when my reverie was interrupted by a news flash that the Supreme Court had declared Roe v. Wade unconstitutional. I screamed in outrage before erupting into tears, crying for college friends who had back-alley abortions when abortions were illegal. I cried realizing, my own abortion in 1979, could be illegal today.
Paula Rego, Portuguese artist’s image of a woman about to undergo an illegal/back-alley abortion
I cried for all the poor women of color, who lack the financial means to secure safe abortions at a time when US maternal death rates are the highest in the developed world. I cried for women with high-risk pregnancies who could die without safe abortions. I cried for girls and women who will be denied abortions after becoming impregnated through rape.
Once at home, I went online to see what pro-choice women were posting on Facebook and Twitter. A large majority advocated lobbying to get pro-choice women elected to office. Nancy Pelosi’s bizarre response was to read a poem rather than lay out an action plan. Women across the country rapidly mobilized to form street protests in their communities.
Women demonstrating in front of the Supreme Court, June 24, 2022 (Rolling Stone)
By Saturday my tears had turned to rage, furious at the Supremes and at the Democrats for not legalizing abortion rights when they had a majority to codify legal abortions. Even if more pro-choice candidates win, that won’t change the composition of the Supreme Court. The Biden administration has rejected appeals to add more Justices to the Supreme Court. Once again, the Democrats offer hollow game plans.
A woman’s general strike could be our best chance of securing abortion rights.
History has proven its success. In a general strike women refuse to go to work, buy anything, and simultaneously take to the streets as they shut down their country’s economy. Hurting the economy is a proven tactic for waking up the ruling elite. In 1974, the women of Iceland, in protest of gender inequality, staged a successful general strike that lasted for one day. After throwing the country into chaos, the women’s demands were met.
Iceland’s Women’s General Strike, 1974 (Iceland Magazine)
In October 2020, Polish women staged a general strike in support of abortion rights with the slogan, “F**k Off.” While they were only moderately successful, they dealt a strong blow to the reigning party with public support for abortion growing.
Polish women’s general strike, October, 2020
Spanish women held a general strike in 2018 to protest gender violence and to support abortion rights. Thanks to a well-organized effort of supporters in villages and cities across Spain, the strike succeeded.
Mexico’s “Green Tide Movement” staged a pro-abortion women’s general strike in September 2021. It succeeded in having abortion decriminalized. The strikers’ green bandanas have been adopted by numerous American women pro-choice marchers,
Mexican women’s Green Tide Movement marching for abortion rights, 2019
Let’s rethink our usual protest responses, like trying to create change at the ballot box. Progressive representatives have shown their inability to make a significant difference. Once in office they are neutered by their Centrist party leadership. Demonstrating with like-minded individuals can raise your spirits, but there is little evidence that peaceful protests change the minds of those running the country.
Drastic times call for drastic measures, which is why I believe our best chance of reversing Roe v. Wade is through a women’s general strike. If women refuse to go to work and to buy material goods, the economy grinds to a halt, making the powerful squirm, creating the conditions for having our demands met.
Pro-choice demonstrators outside the Supreme Court, June 24, 2022
Let’s Get Moving! Let’s build a women’s general strike movement with national and local chapters.
Before a general strike can occur, provisions must be made for women who can’t afford to lose a day’s pay via organizations to collect donations to finance women’s lost paychecks. We will need daycare for women joining in mass mobilizations on the day of the general strike. We will require training sessions for peaceful responses to violence. We will need effective spokeswomen to articulate our mission.
Women strikers can take inspiration from the burgeoning labor strikes across the country, notably at Starbucks and Amazon. Let’s join with their women representatives to swell our ranks and to borrow from their successes.
A woman’s general strike could benefit from tactics of Starbucks union organizers, like Seryna Graham, Boston, June 2022
Polls find that most Americans are opposed to the Supremes decision. Let’s use this momentum to build a general strike. Let’s show our country and the world that American women won’t go back! Let’s become peaceful women warriors, striking for our sisters across the country!
