Opinion: We organize in North Philly. We know Trump is a threat to our freedoms and futures.

In this op-ed, Pennsylvania-based progressive leaders Steve Paul, director of One Pennsylvania, and Salaah Muhammad, Organizing Director of the PA Working Families Party, express their disdain for Donald Trump’s policies that threaten Pennsylvanians’ freedoms by aiming to restrict abortion rights and control personal healthcare decisions. As Trump holds a rally in Philadelphia this weekend, Paul and Muhammad say that Pennsylvanians must unite to reject these extremist attacks and protect their right to freedom and choice.

Two years ago, Roe v Wade, the landmark ruling that enshrined the right to an abortion, was overturned by a Supreme Court stacked by Donald Trump. Although abortion is still legal in Pennsylvania, our rights and freedoms are once again threatened by the looming alternate reality of another Trump presidency. 

This weekend, Donald Trump will hold a rally in Philadelphia to garner support and funding for his anti-freedom campaign. As people who organize in North Philly, talk to voters, and are involved in this community, we know that his proposed policies will directly and negatively impact not only our futures but also future generations.

These policies would serve as an extreme barrier not just to patients seeking care but to entire communities across the state, who deserve the freedom to make their own choices and decide what is best for their families.

Donald Trump and his MAGA allies are coming for our rights and freedoms, and they are not going to stop at the right to abortion; their end goal has always been to exercise full control over our bodies and our lives. We know that Donald Trump will ban abortion, even without Congress, despite the overwhelming popularity of abortion care across the country. 

Healthcare is a personal decision made between a patient and their doctor and not something politicians should be able to weigh in on, no matter how powerful they are. As Pennsylvanians, we value our freedoms, and we cannot allow them to be infringed upon by well-funded MAGA politicians like Donald Trump. 

We know the harm that would come to Pennsylvanians when Donald Trump and his allies come into power, this has been tried and true. Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other people of color will disproportionately feel the effects of anti-freedom bans and restrictions, not just on our bodies, but on our entire lives and the lives of those who come after us. We cannot allow them to further our country’s legacy of discrimination and racism. 

Fortunately, we have the power to stop them. No matter our zip code or income level, we have the power to join together across our communities and speak up as Pennsylvanians. We all deserve the freedom to decide if, how, and when we grow our families, and how to care for our bodies. 

We have the power to ensure that our freedoms, futures, and rights remain intact. By rejecting Donald Trump’s extremist attacks and policies, and all politicians that go against our values, we can create the future we want, no matter how much money we have or which part of the commonwealth we call home.