Oppression in its barest form

Social justice is a driving force in our millennial generation, defined as “a state or doctrine of egalitarianism,” and our attention to its perpetuation comes across in more than just policy engagement. It is a major factor in the decisions we make — how we shop, what we eat and the causes we promote.

Millennials are increasingly creative in the ways we support certain agendas, and feel a responsibility to interact with society in a healthy way that brings equality to all instead of a select few.

The Millennial Impact Project is an organization that looks at how U.S. millennials engage with causes. Its 2017 report tracked how a presidential campaign affected millennial social-activism engagement. “Millennials we interviewed wanted to give all people — but especially marginalized or disenfranchised individuals or groups — early interventions and opportunities that would ensure increased prosperity later in life ” (2017 Millennial Impact Report). If our generation is to be concerned with the disenfranchised, the marginalized, the oppressed and the outsider, the unborn child fits all of these descriptions.

Yes, abortion is a violation of providing life to a human being — but it should also be acknowledged as oppression in its barest form. It ostracizes the weaker members of society, and it places a particular burden on minority communities.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, abortion rates continue to vary by race and ethnicity. In reference to a study published by the American Journal of Public Health, abortion rates have declined in recent years — but not across every populace. While white women had the lowest abortion rate, black women “were overrepresented among abortion patients and had the highest abortion rate.”