Nearly half a century ago in 1973, Roe v. Wade established the constitutional right to abortion. This right is about to be challenged.
On May 17, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case regarding a Mississippi law that seeks to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. These tight constraints on abortion are a huge concern and foreshadow what is to come regarding reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. Many pro-abortion rights individuals argue that by merely treating the Mississippi case as legitimate instead of throwing it out, the six-justice conservative majority of the court is signaling the possible end to all legal abortions.
The Supreme Court’s decision is a violent slap in the face to the ongoing reproductive rights movement. It is delaying progress in our nation by denying people easy access to abortions. If the struggles that people who can become pregnant face daily were not enough, now our Supreme Court believes they can have a say in what people do with their bodies.
Those in favor of the Mississippi law are unaware of the dire consequences it has. Lynn Fitch, the state’s Republican attorney general, said in a statement, “The Mississippi Legislature enacted this law consistent with the will of its constituents to promote women’s health and preserve the dignity and sanctity of life.” A common phrase he kept using later on in his statement was “protect the unborn.” What about protecting the bodily autonomy of people who can get pregnant?
If Fitch was actually concerned about the health of women and people who can become pregnant, he would have realized that tighter restraints on abortions only come with greater consequences. The true intention of pro-life legislators and activists are often hidden behind phrases like “protection of the unborn.” It is an excuse used to justify greater abortion restraints and push forward harmful puritanical beliefs.
These ideas are driven by the want to punish individuals, especially women, for having sex. These beliefs should remain in the past and the legality of abortion should not depend on them. There is no evil intent when people decide to have an abortion. Many of those who have at least one abortion already have one child at home, and they are simply not able to take care of another baby. The Mississippi law is a threat to Roe v. Wade. If the case is revisited and abortion is made illegal, it will put so many people in grave danger.
The lack of accessibility will greatly affect low-income Black and Brown people. They will be disproportionally punished because the majority of people who have abortions are people of color. The right to abortion makes sure that these families are able to thrive with the right resources and safety nets.
Banning abortion will never stop it from happening. It will only lead to dangerous underground abortions. Just because a behavior is illegal does not mean it will cease to occur. People with the ability to get pregnant have been having abortions throughout history regardless of its legality.
This leaves many people in extremely vulnerable positions. Abortions are safe when carried out by skilled professionals in sterile medical environments. Keeping abortion legal will ensure this is the case and that the needed resources and funding are given to abortion clinics and institutions aiding people who can get pregnant.
Without these resources, so many people are in danger of contracting diseases or sustaining serious injury from unsafe abortions. In some cases, these outcomes can cause permanent infertility, lifelong disability and even death. These factors are commonly seen in countries where abortion is banned, usually due to the influence of the Catholic Church.
Another foreseen impact will affect children and adults who have been victims of rape and/or incest. With the legalization of abortion, these individuals will be forced to carry the product of their violation to term. This is a constant reminder of their trauma and puts survivors through further turmoil.
That is not all. If abortion is made illegal, miscarriages will have to be investigated. This is to ensure that the termination of the pregnancy was truly the result of a miscarriage and not a self-inflicted abortion. This means that many people could end up in jail while still grieving the loss of a wanted pregnancy.
Such a thing occurred to Manuela, a mother of two from El Salvador, who miscarried seven months into her pregnancy. However, the police did not believe her and sentenced her to 30 years in prison. She only served two of those years before dying alone in a hospital. She had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which turned out to be the cause of her miscarriage.
There are many women like Manuela who are currently serving long sentences for their miscarriages. Manuela’s family filed a lawsuit in hopes of helping these women and legalizing abortion in El Salvador. Miscarriages are more common than people think, with 10-20% of known pregnancies ending from this phenomenon. This number is likely higher due to unknown miscarriages occurring as a result of undetected early pregnancies.
The government should not ruin the lives of innocent people. The law would only make life harder for women and AFAB (assigned female at birth) trans and nonbinary people.
The verdict on the Mississippi law is likely to be delivered in the spring or early summer of next year. Many other states are enacting similar legislation. Texas is one such state that passed their “heartbeat bill,” banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. But many individuals are unaware that they are pregnant at the six-week point.
The future of reproductive rights in America is on the line. By granting legitimacy to such laws, we are undoing a long history of struggle that reproductive rights activists have gone through to gain bodily autonomy. Women and AFAB trans and nonbinary people will now have to face a new series of obstacles in the future if the verdict sways in favor of tighter restraints on abortion. The Supreme Court rarely looks at cases that challenge precedent ones, making this an urgent matter to pay careful attention to.
We must keep our heads up and our voices loud. You can sign a number of virtual petitions created by Planned Parenthood to ensure abortion remains legal. Many of these petitions include letters to our legislators that emphasize reproductive rights must be kept safe and that more healthcare resources should be given to people who can become pregnant. Take action now, and make your voices heard.
