Lady Liberty Is Staggered

With the Supreme Court Ruling striking down rights for women

When women were finally given autonomy over their bodies with the landmark Roe V Wade ruling in 1973, I was in high school in Washington, DC. Although too young to be personally affected, I understood its significance. The ruling was part of the cultural fabric I was soon to enter as an adult; I felt free to live my life as I wanted. Now, many women will not have that freedom.

When the Supreme Court struck down Roe Vs Wade last Friday, I felt sickened. I have done many cartoons about women’s rights; this time, I felt a strong urge to express outrage, fear, and sadness. I could attack anti-abortion activists, ridicule the Justices who lied to us, I could go after the Americans who voted Trump into office or those who didn’t vote in 2016 because a woman was running. I could draw women yelling at the top of their lungs demanding freedom. All these things went through my head.

I chose to go with what was in the forefront of my mind: fear for our democracy. Lady Liberty represents the best of us, a symbol of justice, freedom, and equality. Like me, I imagined she felt punched in the gut, taken off balance, in pain, insulted and crestfallen.

However, like many other women, Lady Liberty will again stand strong for the principles on which our country was founded.

Some of the above was quoted in a piece in the Washington Post today about various cartoonists’ take on the ruling.

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