The cover of the American left-wing magazine mother jones of July-August 2022 is dedicated to American women whose freedoms are increasingly threatened. The words “Lock her up” (“Lock her up!”) are inscribed within the symbol representing the woman. The magazine thus diverts the slogan chanted in 2016 by supporters of Donald Trump, which targeted former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, accused at the time of having lacked caution on the confidentiality of government files.
The symbol of the woman is confused with a handcuff which expresses the deprivation of women’s freedoms. Indeed, the right of women to abortion, and more broadly their free will over their pregnancy, is called into question in the United States. Supreme Court may soon overturn Roe ruling vs. Wade, who legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.
mother jones devotes a large part of its issue to women’s rights, addressing various topics, as announced by the subtitle at the bottom of the front page: “Forced to give birth. Prosecuted for miscarriage. Punished for raising their children.”
New devious strategies against abortion
In a dossier, the magazine analyzes the Conservatives’ offensive against abortion. A first article recounts the extremely devious new strategies used by anti-abortion activists in Florida, a state which until now served as a refuge in the South for women wanting an abortion. This was observed by Kelly Flynn, director of the A Woman’s Choice clinic in Jacksonville: as she told mother jonesshe saw her establishment being targeted by increasingly aggressive anti-abortion protesters.
“If abortion is illegal, will all miscarriages be potential crimes?” This is the question posed by a second article, relating the story of Brittney Poolaw, found guilty of manslaughter after a miscarriage and sentenced to four years in prison. “If the Supreme Court’s draft judgment quashing Roe vs. Leaked Wade reflects his final decision, so cases like Brittney Poolaw’s will become much more common.” warns the magazine.
“The next goal of the anti-abortion movement: contraception”, announces a third article. Already, explains mother jonesactivists “pro-life” push for a “much more ambitious horizon: extending the definition of abortion itself to include contraception”.
For the rest, this “is already under attack”. In 2020, the Supreme Court notably “confirmed the decision to allow employers with a religious objection to abortion to no longer cover the cost of contraception for their employees”.
(Article written by Eugénie Legouet-Camus and Apolline Jaulneau-Labarre, second interns.)
