PretendAgain Statement on SCOTUS Overturning Roe v. Wade

Like many out there, the team at PretendAgain has been aware of and impacted by recent events in the news, including the recent Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. As you may likely know, the overturned case established the right to an abortion and other medical treatments through the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, often called the “Due Process Clause”. In short, until the recent decision, the 14th Amendment has been interpreted as protecting a person’s privacy, including medical decisions, as free from the interference of the state (which is often used in place of the word “government”).

The PretendAgain team is composed of a diverse set of people with varying backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, viewpoints, and goals. Diversity is something we’ve intentionally strived for to help create better products for the ageplay community. We have felt immense stress and direct impact from the change in law due to Roe v. Wade and are deeply concerned for the direction and potential of more human rights violations by SCOTUS and the United States government. Our team has carefully considered and internally discussed our concerns about the landscape ahead. We have put together this statement to the community to make clear where we stand on such critical matters.

PretendAgain’s Stance:

• Human rights are not limited or reserved to certain groups, beliefs, or ways of life.

• Human rights should not be subject to the votes and whims of others.

• The rights of others stop where yours begin.

On the matter of abortion specifically:

• An abortion is a legitimate medical procedure used in a wide variety of situations.

• The decision to obtain or not obtain an abortion is a deeply personal one, with the impacts being carried through a person’s life from that moment forward no matter what they choose to do. This decision belongs to that person and that person alone.

• Life is sacred. Various viewpoints, including religious ones, establish the moment when life begins at various points and none are universal. Because of this, we further affirm our support of the decision to obtain an abortion or other medical procedure as best taken by the person considering it, in consultation with a trained medical professional.

• People who do not have a uterus do not have any business thinking they should be controlling uteruses.

• These matters are not open for debate.

Our commitment to the community moving forward is ensuring our partners we work with do not fund, advocate, or otherwise support the restriction of abortion, medical procedures, transitionary care, equal discussion of relationship types, or any other human rights/matters of dignity. While our impact may be small and imperfect, we hope we can help lead our community by example, taking a stand, and letting every single ageplayer and ally out there know that we stand with you, love you, and support you!

Sincerely,

-The PretendAgain Team