Sign of the Times

For nearly half a century, women in the United States anchored their right to have an abortion on Roe v. Wade. The said case came into fruition when Norma McCorvey, i.e., Jane Roe, challenged Texas abortion laws in 1973. Abortion was considered a crime in Texas unless it was done to save the mother’s life. Deciding in favor of Roe, the Supreme Court ruled that control over pregnancy falls under the right to privacy. The Court emphasized that a woman could not be forced to continue a pregnancy, especially when several aspects of the mother’s life are at risk.

Many people believe that Roe v. Wade provided a leeway to legalize abortion, which is far from the truth. The case merely set a precedent by categorizing abortion under the constitutional right to privacy and providing a framework for abortion regulations at the federal level. Nowhere does it mention in the case that abortion was being legalized. Instead, it changed the way states can regulate abortion and prompted anti-abortion advocates to lobby for more stringent abortion laws.

It is beyond contention that abortion is not and will never be a simple issue. It is not simply a battle between pro-choice and pro-life. People’s views differ on the way they view the world and when they believe life actually begins. As such, states continued to pass abortion regulations which were often challenged in the courts. To which one could not help but wonder if Roe v. Wade could be overturned.

Come June 24 this year, the unthinkable for many pro-choice advocates happened. The law of the land regarding abortion was overturned in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. Justices of the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to overturn Roe v. Wade. Justice Samuel Alito, the writer of the decision, argued that “Roe was egregoriously wrong from the start” and that “the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”

As expected, the overturn of Roe v. Wade wreaked havoc. Abortion rights activists held rallies all over the country, protesting the shocking turn of events and demanding to keep the bans off their bodies. Several claimed that it was unfortunate how a corpse had more bodily autonomy than a pregnant woman seeking an abortion - that even if a child needed an immediate organ donation and a healthy person had just died right outside of the hospital, if they had not consented to become an organ donor, one could not take an organ from them to save the child’s life. It is a disturbing thought, yet the government seems to be more interested in controlling women’s bodies than limiting a corpse’s rights.

Without Roe, it is now up to the states to decide how to regulate abortion. Immediately after the overturning of Roe, states with “trigger laws” banned abortion in an instant, namely Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Other states with abortion bans could start enforcing them again sans Roe. Ultimately, abortion in the United States has become more complex and dangerous than it was before.

As it stands today, more women seeking an abortion will risk their health and their lives trying to get it done at whatever cost. In states where abortion is banned, some women have resorted to looking up the know-how and medication without the supervision of a healthcare provider. Failed abortions can result in children being born with poor health conditions that they have to live with for the rest of their lives. The need for secrecy also contributes to the risk, since women could face imprisonment once they return to their home state.

As one journalist has said, “if you’re going to evolve backwards, don’t bring the country down with you.” If anything, the sans Roe situation has only left the people raging for the rights of other marginalized sectors. If they can take away a beacon for women’s equality and independence, who knows where they are headed to? The chaos is by no means done - it has only just begun.