Editor:

No matter what side of the abortion issue you are on, no one has a right to dictate mastery over your own body. My response to the news that the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to take away abortion rights in this country after 50 years was physical ("Rally for Reproductive Rights in Eureka," posted May 4). My whole body seized up, my muscles tensed, my shoulders tightened, my stomach hurt, I became nauseous. My outrage and trauma is breathtaking and heartbreaking. As I begin to process what is happening in this country and what it means for women and girls, I see that everything is connected.

Donald Trump packed the court with "conservative" judges who would do his bidding and lead us to this moment in time. But these governmental changes are not conservative, they are cruel and barbaric, they are white supremacy and minority rule in action. Trump and his cronies orchestrated and nearly succeeded in pulling off a coup to bring down our democracy. Think of it. If his mob of supporters and the people in his administration had been successful, Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi may have been killed. We may have had a civil war, a dictatorship, or both.

The danger is still real. We must stand up and take positive action. Vote people out of office who want to take away women's rights, Black and brown people's rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrants' rights, human rights. We must not let the country go back into the dark ages in 2022 and 2024. It matters for our children and grandchildren. We cannot let democracy die.

April Jones, Arcata