In 2017 American women and their male allies to the tune of a half-million, organized to protest the unfit incoming new president. This determined mass of citizens lent a true sense of history in the making as we marched that day as one.

In the days, weeks, and months following that massive protest women returned home energized. Women took action running for office, working for candidates, and by 2020 we all witnessed the election of the first female Vice President in history.

This change was as breathtaking as it was exciting. So it came as no surprise women would pay a steep price for such audacity.

At this writing American women stand on the precipice of losing fifty years of reproductive rights. And this retribution is especially nasty, a vicious retaliation on female medical and political autonomy. No quarter is given for rape, incest, or domestic violence. American women are fair game, once again, relegated as second-class-citizens.

In that light the striking down of Roe isn’t about abortion. Few women seek such a procedure, and even those numbers have continued to decline. The thrust is to punish and marginalize women standing up for equal protection under the law. There is clarity in this moment of looming suppression, and we have no choice but to double-down to protect ourselves, our daughters, and granddaughters.

Other select groups also feel that same oppressive heat. Americans of color, and non-binary sexual orientation are suffering similar treatment because, they too, have demanded social justice. Trump’s GOP has made it clear that they serve only white, male, reactionaries.

Vote blue.

Since writing this piece the Court has indeed overturned Roe. The good news is women are not victims and we will not retreat an inch. Vote.

Gail Chumbley is a history educator and author.