Opinion: You should decide when, if, or how to start a family. Not Donald Trump.

I’ve traveled across the state this summer to talk to voters about what’s at stake in the upcoming election. One of the many obstacles facing North Carolinians this November is misinformation, particularly around where candidates stand on important issues. We need to set the record straight on what Donald Trump plans to do if he regains control of the White House because Donald Trump and his allies in government are a direct attack on our fundamental rights.

First, Donald Trump and his allies are profoundly anti-abortion. During his campaign for president in 2016, Trump promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. He followed through on his promise, naming three new justices who ultimately tipped the scales of our nation’s highest court, leading directly to the 2022 decision that ended a federal right to abortion. Donald Trump has since said that it was an honor to “terminate” Roe v. Wade and bragged on Fox News that he did more to end abortion rights than anyone else.

So don’t let his smokescreen fool you. Another Trump administration, especially with the backing of Congress, will result in further restrictions on abortion — even a national ban. Across the country, we’re already seeing broader attacks on reproductive health care from Trump allies in state governments like attacks on in-vitro fertilization and birth control, and policies that criminalize pregnant people and put their lives at risk.

And while they erode our rights and freedoms, these politicians are ignoring the soaring rates of maternal and infant mortality across the South and refusing to prioritize basic needs that would actually help families thrive like access to affordable housing, healthcare, and childcare.

Participating in the political process often feels futile for many of us. If you live in a heavily gerrymandered state like I do, this makes perfect sense. The few in power purposefully rig the system so that they can stay in power, manipulating voting maps to give their political party an unfair advantage in future elections. Behind closed doors, they dilute the voting power of historically disenfranchised people, particularly Black and Brown people. Because of this racist and partisan gerrymandering, we’re left with politicians who don’t reflect the makeup of our state — who don’t align with our values or represent our best interests in government.

We cannot allow this corruption and voter suppression to paralyze us. A second Trump presidency promises to erode our democracy and fundamental freedoms, including the right to make decisions about your body, your family, and your future. If we mobilize, our communities will have the power to decide the outcome of November’s election up and down the ballot.

No matter how you personally feel about the decision to have an abortion, we can all agree that the government shouldn’t be in charge of what happens to an individual’s body or interfere with private healthcare decisions. You should decide when, if, or how to start a family. Not Donald Trump.