TW: this piece discusses the current state of the US in regards to the overturn of Roe v Wade and includes conversations of abortion

girls just wanna have fun-damental rights

Stella was sitting on the bed, finishing off her braids, when Maya entered the room. The little girl took note of her mom's outfit and the items around her; it was clear she was about to go somewhere.

"Are you going somewhere?" Maya asked, leaning against the bed frame.

Stella nodded. "I'm meeting your Aunt Sylvie and Aunt Violet downtown in a few minutes. We're gonna walk the protest."

"Why?"

Stella sighed but moved closer, lifting Maya and setting her on the bed. She'd been trying to think of an age-appropriate way to breech the subject with Maya since the news broke. The little girl was smarter than the average eight-year-old, but this was a topic that some adults still failed to grasp.

"In our country, there's something called the Supreme Court. It's a group of selected people, called justices, that have the ability to uphold or overturn laws for everyone in the country. They decide what laws stay and what laws go." Stella paused. After making sure Maya was following along, she continued. "A few days ago they decided to overturn, or get rid of, the ruling known as Roe versus Wade and it's something that has affected women all over the country."

"What's Roe versus Wade?"

Stella wrapped an arm around Maya and pulled her close. "When I was pregnant with you, I was so happy, and your daddy and I were so excited to meet you. I was healthy and you were healthy, and everything worked out. But that's not always the case for other women. Sometimes women, even girls and kids barely older than you, get pregnant when they don't want to."

"How does that happen?"

"Well, there are precautions you can take, things you can do to try and keep from getting pregnant but sometimes those things don't work—accidents can happen, or someone can lie and say they took those precautions when they didn't. And, unfortunately, there are some bad people in this world who do some really not nice things to other people."

Maya nodded, a small frown on her face. "That's not nice."

"No, it's not," Stella said with a small smile. "But it's not always like that. There are a lot of people out there who are SO excited to be pregnant and having a baby. Sadly though, having a baby can be very dangerous. Sometimes the baby is really, really sick and won't be able to live once they're born and sometimes the mommy's life is in danger. It can lead to a lot of really hard decisions having to be made. Roe versus Wade protected a woman's choice to end a pregnancy."

"It's called getting an abortion and making the decision to get one is, for some women, one of the hardest decisions they'll ever make. It's one that will stick with them for the rest of their lives."

"Have you ever had one?" Maya asked quietly.

"No sweetie, I haven't," Stella answered. "But there was a time many, many, many years ago, before I met your dad, when I was married to someone else. There were times in that marriage when things were scary and at times, I wasn't safe. If I had gotten pregnant during that time, I might've had to make that decision."

Maya frowned in concern. "Really? Why?"

Stella was quiet for a moment. She didn't like thinking about those years with Grant and she didn't want to expose Maya to that while she was still so young but given what they were talking about, it was an important thing to add. Her voice was sad when she spoke again. "Because it wouldn't have been a safe situation for a baby. There were times when he put his hands on me…he hurt me. He had a lot of issues and he needed help and I was in no shape to raise a child if I would've gotten pregnant during that time."

Maya nodded, understandingly. "Do other people have them cause of that?"

"Some do, yeah." Stella nodded. "Some people have really scary lives at home-sometimes home isn't safe for them and it's definitely not safe for a baby."

"There are a lot of other reasons why people make the choice to end their pregnancy. Without Roe versus Wade, states are now allowed to make their own laws regarding abortions, and a lot of states have made it illegal, which puts a lot of people in danger."

"Are there options other than getting an abortion?" Maya, at this point, had turned her entire body to face her mom.

Stella immediately nodded. "Absolutely. Some choose to go through with the pregnancy and have their baby and others choose adoption, which allows people who want kids and people who are in a better position to raise the babies as their own. But sometimes adoptions fall through or something goes wrong and the baby ends up in foster care."

"Like Nico?" Maya's question was sweet and innocent.

"Kind of like Nico, yeah." Stella had to smile at the clear adoration Maya had for the boy. "But while Nico has a family now, some kids have to stay in the foster care system a lot longer than he did."

"Is that why you're protesting?"

Stella nodded and brushed some curls off Maya's face. "Yeah, baby. Your aunts and I, we're protesting to show our support for not only those who have had to make the hard decision to end a pregnancy but for those who now might not have the chance or the freedom to make that choice."

Maya was quiet for a minute. She took everything that her mom had told her in and tried to wrap her head around it. "Can I come with you?"

"Are you sure?" Stella asked, her eyebrows raised.

Maya nodded but a small frown graced her face. "Do you not want me to go?"

"No! I would love for you to come with me," Stella assured quickly. "But your thoughts and opinions on things like abortion are yours to have. I just don't want you to feel like I'm pushing my beliefs onto you. If you really want to come with me though, you're more than welcome to."

The little girl's eyes lit up and she smiled brightly, nodding at her mom. Stella smiled back and sent Maya to her room to get her shoes on.

As she ran out of the room, Stella's smile faltered a little. The reality of everything was starting to sink in for her—her daughters had fewer rights than she did growing up. Granted they had a better start in life than she did, but she'd be damned if they had to grow up in a country that seemed to not care about them.

That's why Stella was marching.

That's why she and hundreds and thousands of women all over the country were marching and protesting—to give girls and women, present and future, the rights and freedoms they deserve.

… … …

Walking out of the bedroom, Stella met Kelly in the hall. "She going with you?" he asked.

Stella nodded. "I explained everything to her in a way she could understand and she wanted to come."

Kelly smiled. The older Maya got, the more her strength, courage, and passion for others grew. She took after her mother more and more.

He pulled Stella into a hug. "You've got this Stella Kidd. You both do, and I'm with you every step of the way."

Stella hugged back tightly. Kelly had always supported her, no matter what, and it wasn't lost on her that there were husbands and partners out there that wouldn't support the women in their lives through this.

She was going to march for them too.

A/N: It's been one week since SCOTUS overturned Roe v Wade and I'm still struggling to wrap my mind around everything that's happened in the past week and everything that will continue to happen in the fallout.

I am sad and angry and fearful for what this means for the US, because it is something that's going to affect each and every one of us in one way or another.

I needed to do something to try and work through my thoughts and feelings, so I wrote this.

I'm going to be taking a little bit of a break. As much as I love Maya, I'm not really in a headspace right now to write quality content for her. I wasn't even planning on posting this one but I felt like it needed to be written. I'll be back soon. Much love.

There are a few links in my bio to websites with resources and places to donate, if you feel so inclined.