The Roe vs Wade case, overturned by the US government on 24th June 2022, has placed the responsibility of deciding whether bodily autonomy is something that citizens deserve on the individual states (irrespective of the fact that the right to abortion has been a constitutional right in The United States Of America for the past 50 years).
Earlier this year, a draft was leaked indicating the possibility of a similar ruling that led to protests across the nation.
The Roe vs Wade case that was passed on January 22nd 1973 imposed a blanket ban on restrictions on abortion and considered abortion a fundamental right by legalising abortion across the US. Currently, there are 13 states that have immediately banned abortions after the ruling, and approximately 23 states with “trigger laws”. These states are ruled by the Republican party, which makes it rather obvious that they would decide on banning abortions completely or imposing heavy restrictions on them.
This ruling does not mean that there will be a complete ban on abortions, but it heavily reduces the safe and legal access to abortions that citizens deserve. It puts black women, immigrants, teenagers and economically weaker people in a disadvantaged position. Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, summed up the consequence this ruling has on women in the US, by saying “This will fall on the poorest women in our country. This will fall on the young women who are being abused or who are the victims of incest. This will fall on those who have been raped. This will fall on mothers who are already struggling to work three jobs to be able to support the children they have.”
To seek an abortion, a woman has to travel long distances. By doing so, she puts herself at risk physically, mentally and legally which is infuriating. In addition, this ruling has inevitably put abortion clinics in states that choose to protect the right to abortion in a difficult position. By increasing the intake of patients from abortion-banned states (who will be required to travel to these clinics), health care workers’ mental health and the quality of treatment patients receive will be significantly impacted.
A ruling that sets a precedent for reproductive rights for women globally was ironically made by a majority of men; who do not have a uterus, who don’t bear any consequence of this ruling, who will never have to make a choice regarding abortion and who will conveniently go on with their lives after a ruling that set back time by years if not centuries for women, non-binary people, trans men and any person with a uterus.
The US supreme court appoints 13 justices that serve a lifetime. Donald Trump nominated 3 judges during his presidency and all three of them were involved in the overturning of abortion rights. The five Supreme Court judges responsible for this ruling are Justice Amy Coney Barret, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Out of them, only one person with a uterus was involved in suggesting a landmark ruling, that would take
away bodily autonomy for more than half the country’s population. 91% of senators that confirmed this overturning were men.
The issue here is when people, that are actually impacted by a law, are not involved in the making of it, the law will always be unjust. People involved in the making of these laws are privileged enough to not be affected by them; they do not have any understanding of the situation or its consequences.
There’s a reason this ruling has created an uproar around the world and there’s a reason it is being referred to as a “landmark” ruling. The United States of America is one of the most powerful countries in the world, if not the most powerful. It sets a precedent for countries worldwide, therefore affecting abortion and reproductive rights everywhere. Following this, more and more countries will be influenced to take away bodily autonomy, a fundamental human right.
Why has the United States of America decided to go through with this ruling, when they are not nearly as well equipped to (a) cater to the psychological needs of pregnant people, (b) support financially burdened pregnant people and (c) guarantee proper and safe health care to every newborn child (that they deserve)?
This ruling will create a ‘butterfly effect’. It has already started with Justice Clarence Thomas suggesting the Supreme Court to reconsider same-sex marriages and the right to contraception. Every judgement impacts another one, and this will lead to a dangerous cycle of the blatant exploitation of human rights.
