On June 23, 2022, we officially celebrated 50 years of Title IX and women being included in sports. I spent time reflecting on what my experience as an athlete meant to me because of the 37 words that mandated in 1972 that equal opportunities had to be provided to both men and women in educational spaces, and sport by proximity. Because of Title IX, I was able to grow up thinking that girls playing sports was normal. I was able to earn a scholarship to play softball that helped pay for my college education. I am proud to say that I am a former Division I athlete and that experience shaped who I am today. This celebration felt like progress for women’s rights and I couldn’t help but be excited to see where the next 50 years of progress looked like.
One day later, on June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion is no longer legally protected by in the United States. One day after celebrating a historic victory for women’s rights our country is now facing a historic setback for women’s reproductive rights. The juxtaposition of the two days is beyond upsetting. On Thursday, the future for women looked bright and, then on Friday, we took a 49-year step back.
I do not have any answers, and I am feeling angry and sad. I am asking myself how I can feel so hopeful for the future one day, to see all the strides women and women’s sports will take in the next 50 years, and now today to feel so limited in my health choices by the government. I recognize that I am lucky because I am a woman living in California, but what about everyone else? What will they do? Some girls and women may not be able to feel the benefits of Title IX if they do not have access to abortion and reproductive health care. It feels a lot like women do not matter in this country.
In my moment of anger and sadness, I am urging everyone to read “Shout Your Abortion.” I have always been pro-choice, but reading this book and hearing the women’s stories, I learned so much. I realized I never understood all the abortion options for women and how life saving they can be. I also didn’t fully understand how having the ability to decide what is right for yourself, your body and your family can alleviate so much emotional distress. I had to read the book slowly in short pieces, and many times I was in tears feeling deeply for the women describing their experiences, but it is an important read. It is our own duty to educate ourselves on controversial issues. I have found that after learning more, I don’t see things as controversial or political at all. Abortion is health care. People have a right to health care. This is a human issue, not just a women’s issue. A “pro-life” government should support the lives of women and people who are able to get pregnant. The U.S. government is not that and they should not have a say in our choices.
On June 23, 2022, women felt seen because our rights were protected. Title IX is proof that when women are supported and included, they are able to accomplish great things. We deserve equal treatment and the same opportunities as men. On June 24, 2022, we were shown this is not the case. Women are not supported in this country. Let’s feel our feelings today. Be kind to ourselves and others who are hurting because of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Rest today because we must mobilize tomorrow. Donate to the cause if you can, make a sign and use your voice protesting in the streets, and register to vote. We can work together to preserve the future for women, nonbinary people and transgender men. Join me in this fight against the patriarchy.
Claire Rietmann-Grout is a local high school administrator and coach. She is passionate about helping teenage girls maximize their potential by building their confidence and encouraging them to lead. In her spare time, she enjoys supporting women’s sports, playing golf with her husband and loving her cat, Arthur. She lives in Moss Beach. Go to clairerg.net for more information.
Thank you for this Claire. You mentioned "Shout Your Abortion" and it reminded me of how important Harvey Milk's plea to LGBTQ people to "Come Out Come Out Wherever You Are!" was to the LGBTQ rights movement. As more and more people came out, more and more people who knew and loved them became allies. Over time laws discriminating against LGBTQ people began to disappear. We are in danger of new laws like Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law taking us backwards and that's why we have to remember that human rights aren't won. Every generation has to fight for those rights that have been recognized and those that have not. Please know that you have millions and millions of allies. 80% of Americans believe in reproductive rights and our work, for the moment, is state by state. Yes, the meme of a grandmother saying "I can't believe I have to fight this same fight again" gets lots of like, love, tear, and shock emogis, because sadly, it is true. The arc of history bends towards justice and we have to grab hold of it and tug as hard as we can and keep tugging. I'm grateful that our state and county are already working on legislation to protect women who come to California for care, AND, working on a state constitutional amendment to make women's reproductive freedom absolutely clear.
It makes me wonder where you got your education. Critical thinking was not taught apparently. "on June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion is no longer legally protected by in the United States." You are just following the crowd which also completely and conveniently failed to read the Decision. Abortion is no longer protected under federal law but its provisions have been (re)relegated to each State. Please, make that correction to the readers and those who you get your misinformation from. Ignorance is no excuse. Thank you.
I think she has had a great education, has done good critical thinking, and made a compelling and powerful case for the cause of reproductive freedom. While yes, the Supreme Court's decision has moved women's reproductive rights to the states, Republicans in Congress are eyeing a national ban while Democrats are considering legislation codifying Roe. But you and readers should be aware that legislators in states like Texas and Florida are working on laws that would punish women from their states who come to states like California for abortions. They are also working on legislation that would allow anyone in their states to sue California health care providers, organizations providing support to women, and even people who let women stay in their homes while getting reproductive care. Our legislature and governor are working together on legislation to protect those women and California citizens from those laws.
Craig - Republicans are citizens too. A democracy depends on diversity. If those states enact the mentioned laws that is through their demographic process. You can't have it both ways. Her critical thinking is severely biased but that seems to be OK with you. I also think you tie the cart before the horse. The whole point of these anti-abortion measures is to prevent women from killing their babies. And, they do not have that right, no matter how loud you and your ilk scream. Whatever happened to birth control and selective encounters?
Dirk - You betray critical thinking when you ask "Whatever happened to birth control and selective encounters?" and at the same time ban abortion for 12 year old girls who have been raped.
Sorry, Ms. Rietmann-Grout, I’m not buying your conflation of Title IX with abortion. There is no “right” to abortion in the Constitution. Abortion is protected in the US - you just need to find a state where it is allowed. In the meantime, perhaps you could provide your thoughts on allowing biological men to compete against women. Are you okay that these “women” will potentially wipe all biological women’s records off the books? I don’t see much equal treatment there, but if all women are okay with it…
Terence - As you'll see in a reply above, legislators in states like Texas are not satisfied with banning abortion in their own states. They are working on legislation that would punish women for traveling to California for reproductive care and allow Texans to sue Californians for "aiding and abetting" women who get abortions here.
Mr. Wiesner, assuming your allegations about Texas is true, how would Texas’ legislation be different from California banning travel to targeted states because California doesn’t agree with their laws? Why doesn’t California allow open carry of firearms? There are differences in laws between states – because that’s how our system of government was set up. Our system of government was also set up to have checks and balances. Unfortunately, these days, it appears legislators are intent more upon virtue signaling than in the legality of their legislation. These checks and balances occur in the future, sometimes 50 years in the future before the correct conclusions are made.
What’s the alternative? Get the seal of approval for legislation from a judge? Nowadays, judge shopping is more popular than shopping on Amazon. Elect better representatives? You’ve seen voter turnout numbers. I’d recommend refresher courses for everyone in common sense and critical thinking (starting with our politicians). That's a much better foundation than the divisiveness we see on a daily basis (yes, even here in the DJ).
Terence - There's a huge difference between a county or state saying that it won't pay for government employees to travel to events in another state with which they have extreme disagreements versus citizens of one state being able to sue citizens of another state for allowing a woman to stay in their home while having a health procedure. By the way, Texas and Florida are also working on laws that would criminalize or allow lawsuits against people in California supporting families who come to our state for gender-related care for their children.
There are some things that transcend state lines and that's why we have a federal government and judiciary. Sometimes we disagree with their legislation and decisions, sometimes we agree. Protest, discussion, arguments, lawsuits, etc.... are nonviolent ways of working for the more perfect union we believe in. Treating each other with dignity and respect as we do that work, knowing that we won't be disappeared in the middle of the night, believing that in the end what is the most just and moral will win out, that's what makes our experiment in Democracy so wonderful.
And, finally (is it ever finally with me? no) refresher courses in critical thinking and common sense? With Florida, Texas, and other states prohibiting teachers from even bringing a local newspaper into the classroom and telling students to pick a story and discuss (especially if the story touches on race or gender), I don't think critical thinking and common sense are on their agenda. Dogma is.
Mr. Wiesner – that’s the thing, there isn’t a huge difference. One state doesn’t like what the other state (or states) is doing so they’re trying to impose their will on what they think is right. You are correct that there are some things that transcend state lines and they’re taken into account via our form of government and federalism. As for your complaint against other states regarding critical thinking and common sense (assuming your allegations are true), I counter with the garbage CRT being taught in schools and elsewhere.
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(12) comments
Excellent, Claire! Your fine education shines through in your excellently penned essay. Keep up the good work. I'm fighting with you!
Thank you for this Claire. You mentioned "Shout Your Abortion" and it reminded me of how important Harvey Milk's plea to LGBTQ people to "Come Out Come Out Wherever You Are!" was to the LGBTQ rights movement. As more and more people came out, more and more people who knew and loved them became allies. Over time laws discriminating against LGBTQ people began to disappear. We are in danger of new laws like Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law taking us backwards and that's why we have to remember that human rights aren't won. Every generation has to fight for those rights that have been recognized and those that have not. Please know that you have millions and millions of allies. 80% of Americans believe in reproductive rights and our work, for the moment, is state by state. Yes, the meme of a grandmother saying "I can't believe I have to fight this same fight again" gets lots of like, love, tear, and shock emogis, because sadly, it is true. The arc of history bends towards justice and we have to grab hold of it and tug as hard as we can and keep tugging. I'm grateful that our state and county are already working on legislation to protect women who come to California for care, AND, working on a state constitutional amendment to make women's reproductive freedom absolutely clear.
Re Titile IX: separate is never equal. End gender segregation in sports. Trans are on the cutting age.
It makes me wonder where you got your education. Critical thinking was not taught apparently. "on June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion is no longer legally protected by in the United States." You are just following the crowd which also completely and conveniently failed to read the Decision. Abortion is no longer protected under federal law but its provisions have been (re)relegated to each State. Please, make that correction to the readers and those who you get your misinformation from. Ignorance is no excuse. Thank you.
I think she has had a great education, has done good critical thinking, and made a compelling and powerful case for the cause of reproductive freedom. While yes, the Supreme Court's decision has moved women's reproductive rights to the states, Republicans in Congress are eyeing a national ban while Democrats are considering legislation codifying Roe. But you and readers should be aware that legislators in states like Texas and Florida are working on laws that would punish women from their states who come to states like California for abortions. They are also working on legislation that would allow anyone in their states to sue California health care providers, organizations providing support to women, and even people who let women stay in their homes while getting reproductive care. Our legislature and governor are working together on legislation to protect those women and California citizens from those laws.
Craig - Republicans are citizens too. A democracy depends on diversity. If those states enact the mentioned laws that is through their demographic process. You can't have it both ways. Her critical thinking is severely biased but that seems to be OK with you. I also think you tie the cart before the horse. The whole point of these anti-abortion measures is to prevent women from killing their babies. And, they do not have that right, no matter how loud you and your ilk scream. Whatever happened to birth control and selective encounters?
Dirk - You betray critical thinking when you ask "Whatever happened to birth control and selective encounters?" and at the same time ban abortion for 12 year old girls who have been raped.
Sorry, Ms. Rietmann-Grout, I’m not buying your conflation of Title IX with abortion. There is no “right” to abortion in the Constitution. Abortion is protected in the US - you just need to find a state where it is allowed. In the meantime, perhaps you could provide your thoughts on allowing biological men to compete against women. Are you okay that these “women” will potentially wipe all biological women’s records off the books? I don’t see much equal treatment there, but if all women are okay with it…
Terence - As you'll see in a reply above, legislators in states like Texas are not satisfied with banning abortion in their own states. They are working on legislation that would punish women for traveling to California for reproductive care and allow Texans to sue Californians for "aiding and abetting" women who get abortions here.
Mr. Wiesner, assuming your allegations about Texas is true, how would Texas’ legislation be different from California banning travel to targeted states because California doesn’t agree with their laws? Why doesn’t California allow open carry of firearms? There are differences in laws between states – because that’s how our system of government was set up. Our system of government was also set up to have checks and balances. Unfortunately, these days, it appears legislators are intent more upon virtue signaling than in the legality of their legislation. These checks and balances occur in the future, sometimes 50 years in the future before the correct conclusions are made.
What’s the alternative? Get the seal of approval for legislation from a judge? Nowadays, judge shopping is more popular than shopping on Amazon. Elect better representatives? You’ve seen voter turnout numbers. I’d recommend refresher courses for everyone in common sense and critical thinking (starting with our politicians). That's a much better foundation than the divisiveness we see on a daily basis (yes, even here in the DJ).
Terence - There's a huge difference between a county or state saying that it won't pay for government employees to travel to events in another state with which they have extreme disagreements versus citizens of one state being able to sue citizens of another state for allowing a woman to stay in their home while having a health procedure. By the way, Texas and Florida are also working on laws that would criminalize or allow lawsuits against people in California supporting families who come to our state for gender-related care for their children.
There are some things that transcend state lines and that's why we have a federal government and judiciary. Sometimes we disagree with their legislation and decisions, sometimes we agree. Protest, discussion, arguments, lawsuits, etc.... are nonviolent ways of working for the more perfect union we believe in. Treating each other with dignity and respect as we do that work, knowing that we won't be disappeared in the middle of the night, believing that in the end what is the most just and moral will win out, that's what makes our experiment in Democracy so wonderful.
And, finally (is it ever finally with me? no) refresher courses in critical thinking and common sense? With Florida, Texas, and other states prohibiting teachers from even bringing a local newspaper into the classroom and telling students to pick a story and discuss (especially if the story touches on race or gender), I don't think critical thinking and common sense are on their agenda. Dogma is.
Mr. Wiesner – that’s the thing, there isn’t a huge difference. One state doesn’t like what the other state (or states) is doing so they’re trying to impose their will on what they think is right. You are correct that there are some things that transcend state lines and they’re taken into account via our form of government and federalism. As for your complaint against other states regarding critical thinking and common sense (assuming your allegations are true), I counter with the garbage CRT being taught in schools and elsewhere.
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