I’m angry, but not surprised. Those are the feelings that have overwhelmed me, and other pro-choice Americans, since a draft of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked by Politico.

If the landmark 1973 decision is overturned by the SCOTUS, it would leave decisions on abortions up to the individual states, meaning that the less progressive states—largely in the South and Midwest—would  have extremely restrictive laws on abortion with many outlawing it altogether. 

There are countless examples and statistics on how harmful and dangerous this will be for women seeking an abortion, but if people haven’t been listening to statistics up until now, I don’t believe they are going to start. 

On Monday evening, I saw the leaked story on Politico about Justice Alito’s draft on the decision, and my heart sank to my stomach. I became overwhelmed with feelings of sadness, confusion, disgust and anger. 

The right to make decisions about my own body could possibly be torn from my hands. 

History has proven, time and time again, that when hateful people in power feel threatened they will act on it, and most of the time, they will target the groups they perceive to pose a threat to their power, which in this case is American women. 

My life is not a political game. Being able to make decisions for my own body should not be something for which I have to fight. This is a sick joke, and I’m tired of it. 

I’m tired of being afraid to be a woman. I’m tired of walking down dark streets with my keys between my fingers, praying that nobody comes out from behind a dark corner. I’m tired of watching women scrutinized and shamed when they are assaulted, questioned about their attire and attitude rather than protecting them for further harm. 

I’m tired of having no control.

By deciding to overturn Roe v. Wade, The Supreme Court will be waging a war on anyone who needs reproductive protection. Nobody is going to sit back and let our rights be ripped away from us. If they want a war, there will be fighting. We deserve protection, and we will be screaming and fighting until we get it. 

I am not an incubator for human life. I have goals and aspirations that a pregnancy would hinder. There are also women with health conditions who could force them to choose between their own life and their fetus. There are people with financial situations that make it impossible to support a human life other than their own. These are people who deserve the opportunity to thrive before bringing new life into the world.

Overturning Roe v. Wade is not a pro-life decision. It is a pro-birth and anti-woman decision, and it paves the way to overturning same-sex marriage, interracial marriage and basically any laws that protect people’s will to pursue their own happiness. 

If my government will not protect me, so be it. Change will take time. It will take getting the right people into power to make the right decisions. I will not, however, just watch it happen. I am an adult. I should be able to make decisions regarding my own body, and I should be able to love who I want to love. I should be protected by the people who claim to care about American citizens. 

My body belongs to me, and I should not be afraid to lose control of it.