The Past Greets the Present: Melissa Harris-Perry and Her Mom Chat About Women’s Reproductive Rights

The past and present provide keys to maintaining freedoms, and shows like “The Handmaid’s Tale” offer a window to the realities of human cruelty.  We must challenge ourselves to keep our eyes open, even when we’d rather look away.

This is a moving conversation between Melissa Harris-Perry and her mom on women’s reproductive rights.  American women did not always have the freedoms we enjoy today – and there’s no guarantee we will always have them.

Both the past and present provide keys to maintaining freedoms – knowing our history and being vigilant about conditions in the modern world – from reproductive rights to voting rights, help us recognize signs before the damage is done.

The Handmaid’s Tale is such a powerful story, in my opinion, because it reminds us of the extremely harsh ways in which humans have acted toward other humans.  It shows us what we’re capable of.  And it’s not pretty!

Some people refuse to watch the show because they don’t want to see the ugliness.  I’m compassionate toward them, of course, because I think many of us have seen and experienced far too much.  There is a limit to what we can handle – while maintaining a certain level of happiness and sanity. My fear is that in our intentional blindness, we help to create the space where our rights slip away – and usher in a return to atrocities that defy description.  — LMO

#Melissa Harris-Perry #Laura Kaplan #The Story of Jane The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service #Women’s Reproductive Rights

LISTEN TO | “Texas Abortion Providers Grapple with New Reality Under Restrictive Law” | The Takeaway, a podcast by WNYC and PRX | 9/3/2021