In December 2023, Kate Cox, a mother of two from Texas, had to leave the state for an emergency abortion. Kate was over 20 weeks pregnant, and the fetus was diagnosed with a rare genetic defect with a major chance of the baby being stillborn, or dying in just a few days after birth. But Texas has a strict abortion ban, leaving Kate with little choice, but to file a lawsuit against the state.
But, even as the doctors confirmed that Kate’s life could also be at risk, in the legal hullabaloo that followed, Kate was running out of time, and had to eventually leave Texas to get her abortion.
This incident and growing incidents like this, across the United States have ignited the debate on women’s abortion rights again, sparking nationwide outrage. If Kate had been pregnant, just a few years back, and even as recently as 2021, she could safely have had the abortion procedure in her home state, protected by constitutional laws.
But not today.
In 2022, the Supreme Court, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturned the historic ruling of Roe v. Wade in 1973 that had granted legal abortion rights to women across all states in the USA. But according to the new ruling, abortion no longer remains a federal right, but is dependent on individual states, which now have the power to regulate abortion.
So, why are women’s rights in the US backsliding? Is this a huge blow to human rights? Or a victory for the right to life? Unfortunately, the answer is not that simple. This debate is eternal, and deeply rooted in moral, religious, and political grounds!
Roe v. Wade and Dobbs v. Jackson: The long story short.
Roe v. Wade, in 1973, is perhaps one of the most controversial Supreme Court rulings in the history of the USA. With Roe’s win, the court granted legal abortion rights to women across all states in the USA and nullified many abortion laws in the country. Soon, it sparked a debate on abortion rights, by continuing the age-old moral, political, and religious battle on what constitutes life, exposing the heavily divided sentiments on the subject. This historic ruling constitutionally protected all women, healthcare workers, and anyone involved in the abortion procedure. Since then, it has been fifty years, and surprisingly, today, the story has an entirely different ending.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in 2022 witnessed the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the historic rule of 1973. With this verdict, abortion was no longer a protected legal right constitutionally. Now, the individual states have the power to regulate any laws regarding abortion. The Dobbs court, in overturning Roe v. Wade had concluded that abortion is not an action that is fundamental to the concept of ordered liberty.
Therefore today, abortion is no longer a constitutionally protected right of women in the U.S.
Who is Jane Roe, the woman behind Roe Vs. Wade?
The story starts in Dallas, where a mother wanted to end an unwanted pregnancy due to her circumstances. The woman, Jane Roe is a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff who initiated the lawsuit in the case Roe V Wade. A cleaning woman from Texas, Norma already had two children, and desperately wanted to terminate her third pregnancy. She was referred to attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington who were looking for women wanting abortions due to unwanted pregnancies. Norma, or Roe, did not attend a single trial, and her statements, through the years remain doubtful, and inconsistent. Ultimately, she could not have the procedure because the verdict came much later. But her winning this historical case marked a milestone in the history of the U.S.
Later in life, Roe stated in a documentary that Roe v. Wade was the biggest mistake of her life, and she was paid to express anti-abortion views. But by then, the case was more about women’s rights, and less and less about her.
What is the History of Abortion Laws in the US?
Has Abortion laws in the U.S. become a backward journey in progress? In the 1800s, the state of Connecticut punished anyone who took or provided poison, for abortion. Many more states followed Connecticut and made abortion a criminal offense, aided by anti-abortion rights activist Dr. Horatio Storer. Abortion soon became illegal in all states by the 1900s.
The first-ever “Planned Parenthood Federation” was founded in 1921 by Margaret Sanger. The 1960s witnessed more and more people recognizing and pushing for women’s rights, including the “Equal Rights Movement”. Colorado became one of the first states to decriminalize abortion in cases of incest, rape, or when the woman’s life is at risk.
Finally came the historic court case of Roe Vs. Wade in 1971, which reached the Supreme Court after three years of trial. This groundbreaking case created history, as the court ruled in favor of Roe, and legalized abortion throughout the United States in 1973. It was a euphoric moment for human rights.
In 1994, Bill Clinton passed the Freedom of Access To Clinics Act, which made it a federal crime to stop access and scare women and clinic workers.
In 2003, the Partial Birth Abortion Act Ban signed by Bill Clinton prohibited late-term abortions and fetuses that have partially been delivered.
There was another court case in 2016, called The Whole Woman’s Health V Hellerstedt. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that Texas could not place restrictions on abortion services, and reaffirmed a woman’s legal right to abortion.
Things changed in 2021. The US Supreme Court heard arguments on abortion cases related to strict abortion laws in Texas and Mississippi that had the potential to reverse the Roe V Wade ruling. And that is what exactly happened. The Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade in 2022, removing abortion as a woman’s constitutional right. Instead, it left the decision to each state and gave them the power to regulate abortion laws. Since 2022, though lawmakers have introduced trigger bans and new restrictions, many questions have risen regarding the legality of these laws. Subsequently, a lot of these new laws were blocked, and have not been implemented, while there is an ongoing debate regarding them in the courts. Therefore, today, amidst legal confusion, the status of abortion rights is volatile.
A country divided on Abortion: Is there hope for a better future?
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization changed the discourse on human rights in American history, throwing pregnant women in the US, and approximately 22 million women and girls of reproductive age in the middle of a human rights crisis.
A lot of women and even men are opting for permanent sterilization today, due to inaccessibility to legal and safe abortion in most of the states. Doctors across the US are getting Increasing requests to get fallopian tubes tied, or fully removed due to strict abortion bans. Dr Kavita Arora, Division Director for General Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina confirms that in practices across the country, sterilization requests have increased from 50% to up to 200%.
Right now, there is no straight answer or solution to the issue of abortion. Complicated laws, restrictions, and the inability to properly address social attitudes do not make it easier for women to access safe abortion. Probably the first step in the right direction is to treat abortion as an essential health care, increasing awareness about health, law, and repercussions.
While looking at the right to abortion, a lot can also be learned and integrated from other countries. Canada has demonstrated to the rest of the world that decriminalizing abortion is feasible. Sweden practices safe, robust services to effectively curb late-term abortions. Even the WHO underscored the safety of first-trimester abortions by trained mid-level providers. Telemedicine services further prove that clinic-based care is not mandatory for the safe and successful administering of abortion pills.
The road to respecting one’s abortion rights, and freedom to choose, is a long, winding one. But let us hope that all the different perspectives, divided views, and disagreements among lawmakers in the country can meet somewhere along the way to prioritize human rights, personal choice, and access to healthcare in a collective commitment to fundamental values!
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