Today is usually a day for celebration. July 4th represents the beginning of a democracy that shook the world, providing progressive civil liberties to *some* of its citizens. Of course, we know that true citizenship came to many residents much later, and in our democracy’s earliest form, only 6% of the US population could effectively vote. The right for former slaves to vote, women, those with Asian and Latino ancestry, and the Indigenous population were not collectively protected until 1965 (with 1975 marking an additional, crucial language extension act). The landmark Roe v Wade decision, which protected a woman's decision to choose to have an abortion, followed in 1973. The overturning of this critical legislation has shown how fragile democracy is, and at its core, how a minority opinion can determine the fate of 52% of the population. Today, 61% of US adults believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. As far as controversial, hot-button topics go, that is an overwhelming majority.
At Gnarly Nutrition, we do not believe it is equitable to restrict a medical procedure or impede on a woman's choice regarding her own body and reproductive system. The decision to take this right away once again reduces women to second-class citizenship, and we fear what this decision could mean for other civil liberties in the future. As a company headquartered in Utah, we will be advocating for change and joining Planned Parenthood Utah in their fight to protect access to reproductive rights. Our staff will be 100% reimbursed for any expense, plus given additional PTO for travel and recovery, should they need reproductive services outside of Utah. This is the least we can do - but we remain angry that our staff is put in the uncomfortable position of having to discuss private, medical procedures with an employer at all in order to receive the care that they need.
In addition, we will be donating 5% of our sales this holiday weekend (from July 3rd to July 5th) to the Utah Abortion Fund.
This is not the 4th of July we imagined, but we will do what is core to being American, and that is picking up the torch and continuing the fight for equality in the United States.
