The United States has a long and often overlooked history of denying Native women (and other women of color) control over their own bodies. In the 20th century, nearly 70,000 American women (mostly working-class women of color) were involuntarily sterilized. One of the most egregious examples was in the 1960s and 1970s, when Indian Health Services (IHS) sterilized almost one quarter of indigenous women. Consequently, from 1970 to 1980 birth rates for Native women dropped 60 percent, compared to 12 percent for white women during the same decade.
Decisions that should be made by women and their families were instead made by government officials who determined that they knew what was best, and that federal planning, not family planning, was needed to dictate Native women’s health decisions and reproductive choices.
Fast forward to today, and the Congressional District that has the largest Native population in the country, Arizona’s 2nd congressional District, is represented by a White Congressman, Eli Crane, who thinks the government, not the woman is best equipped to make decisions about her own health care.
Now Mr. Crane of course isn’t advocating for forced sterilization, which is good, but he is one of the compulsory childbirth members of Congress, who opposes abortion even in the cases of rape or incest. This is the flip side of the same coin that enforced involuntary sterilization. Congressman Crane is in the camp that believes the paternalistic state or the wise men in Congress, not Native women (or other women) should make the most important personal decisions about their bodies.
Crane was absolutely giddy when the Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade, commenting:
Americans can celebrate a new era of morality and dignity. Roe v Wade was a mistake that cost millions of human lives [sic], and our Constitution never authorizes the right to terminate human life [sic]..Overturning Roe would not have been possible had President Trump and courageous Senators not been aggressive in confirming three Supreme Court Justices in his first term.
Nearly every Congressional race in 2024 will be a race about women’s health and reproductive choices. In that sense AZ-2 is not a unique race. However, the specific appeal to making AZ-2 a race to invest in if you value women’s health is twofold:
1) It’s a single digit Trump seat (+7.9 points in 2020) so investment here can tip the outcome.
2) It's the Congressional district with the most Native women in the country, a population that has been denied decisions over their own bodies historically by malevolent or destructively paternalistic politicians who think they know better.
Crane’s opponent, Jonathan Nez, is not a woman, but he is a Native American candidate who understands the history of the US government’s relationship with indigenous women, and he is a steadfast supporter of a woman’s right to make her own health decisions free from the controlling arms of the intrusive state.
For that reason, one of the best places to make a stand for women’s bodily autonomy, women’s health decisions, and to reject the politics of reproductive compulsion, coercion, and control, is Jonathan Nez in AZ-2.
Please help defeat “forced childbirth even in cases of incest and rape” Congressman Eli Crane and elect someone who will leave control in the hands of Native (and all women).
To support Eli Crane’s opponent and support a candidate who respects women’s bodily autonomy and personal sovereignty, consider contributing to Jonathan Nez for Congress, a man who supports family planning, not federal planning, and who also will stand up (or more accurately in this instance “stand back” and allow Native women to make their own decisions with their families and their local physician, instead of having those decisions made by her federal politician).
To reject the politics of control, stand up for Women’s autonomy, by rejecting controlling Congressmen, Eli Crane, and help elect instead a dedicated public servant, Jonathan Nez and flip AZ-2.
DONATION LINK HERE: secure.actblue.com/…
Candidate Website Here: www.jonathannezforaz.com
