Letter from the Chair of 社会学
2022年6月29日
The Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn 罗伊诉. Wade is antithetical to the most basic democratic principles at the core of a liberal arts education. The majority of Americans strongly support allowing individuals to access evidence-based health care services and to make decisions about their own care in consultation with their medical team.
Sociologists are experts in the mechanisms by which those in power attempt to exert social control. 像这样, it is our responsibility to speak out when systems of power weaponize those mechanisms to curtail the rights of its most vulnerable citizens. Control is most likely to be exerted in times of societal change to thwart progress and is often framed in terms of supposed benevolence or concern for innocent bystanders. 最终, decisions such as the Supreme Court's are expressions of that desire to maintain power and social control.
Reproductive rights and bodily autonomy are issues that affect all of us. This decision will indeed fall hardest on the most vulnerable amongst us: women & gender minorities, low-income communities, survivors of domestic & sexual violence, people with disabilities, refugees & 寻求庇护者, 有色人种社区, and many others who are affected by systemic oppression and who rely upon rights not explicitly granted in the constitution. The Supreme Court's ruling, 在这种情况下, will exacerbate existing inequities by ensuring that those with the fewest resources will face the harshest consequences and the riskiest conditions.
As Chair of the 社会学 Department, I will work to ensure we continue to offer relevant educational opportunities about the sociological implications of overturning 罗伊诉 Wade. And as a department deeply committed to social justice and community engagement, we will seek opportunities for faculty, 工作人员, and students to engage in the struggle for reproductive rights.
To learn more about the Supreme Court's decision and how you can become involved, please refer to this resource & evidence-based summary created by the Orange County Women's Health Project: http://drive.谷歌.com/file/d/1XKLb6YC0UG2R18riqD1WlRrPQa5oFIlD/view
克里斯托弗·D. 贝德
Professor and Chair of 社会学
*This letter utilizes some text from statements issued by the Japanese Americans' Citizen League 的表述 迈克尔·V. Drake, President of the University of California.