As of Monday night, for the first time in US history, one of the most monumental breaches of trust occurred when a Supreme Court draft – a document outlining the opinions and subsequent plans of the court on a specific case- was leaked, and the contents weren’t pretty. Roe v Wade is arguably one of the most controversial cases ever reviewed by the court because it deals with the heavy topic of abortion. The landmark decision was made back in the 70s after Norma McCorvey “Jane Roe” sought an abortion in the state of Texas, though the practice had been outlawed. Her attorneys challenged Henry Wade, the district attorney. The divisiveness of the case is what pushed it to the Supreme Court wherein in January 1973, they decided the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment provides a “right to privacy” that protects a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. It’s been nearly 50 years since its implementation, and it has already saved the lives of thousands of women, but, unfortunately, it seems that it’s in danger of being absolved.
In recent years, former President Donald Trump has inducted two openly pro-life justices (Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh) to the court who have been pushing alongside many others to override the outcome of Roe. The pro-life argument centers around the idea that abortion is unconstitutional because the life of the fetus matters just as much as that of the woman. Many of the group’s members also often cite the act as being a sin against God. While theoretically there should be a separation between church and state, in recent years the lines have been blurred, ultimately leading to such discourses.
Pro-life protesters are often known to stand outside of nationwide Planned Parenthood centers (who, by the way, actually provide MANY more healthcare services besides abortions) and other abortion clinics harassing patients with photoshopped gruesome images, threats, and insults. There has seldom been a time more frightening and scary for women who will now potentially have their rights to bodily autonomy stripped by these same people. However, there has never really been an easy time to be a woman. In a society that also shames women for having lots of kids, and provides no free healthcare, childcare, or maternity care, we can do no right. There is a constant argument about what is a life, and what is ethical about abortion, but if you remain uncertain on the topic, I challenge you to imagine the concept of choice and its importance in our society. Everything we do in life involves choice- from deciding our breakfast, to taking a turn while driving- quite literally, the right to choose structures our whole life. However, in a more deep sense, choice governs so many other aspects of human existence. Each day, a person on the donor list dies because they did not receive the transplant they needed, but we still let people choose the option to be a donor when they get their license. There is also a national blood shortage, yet we don’t force people to line up and donate, even if it’s to save a life. The same concept should apply to pregnancy: we have no right to force a woman to give up her body to a fetus who has no sentience, even if life is produced in the end.
What many misconstrued about the pro-choice argument is that it is synonymous with “pro-abortion”, which could not be any farther from the truth. To be pro-choice means that we give women the right to make decisions about their medical health, just as men receive. The right to choose and have access to receive the services that coincide with the decision has saved hundreds of women turning to unsafe abortion methods, hundreds of babies from the over-flooded foster care systems, and in general, alleviated instances of abuse, poverty, and mental anguish. When we ban this system entirely, we not only pave the way for increased death from unsafe abortion methods but also send a message that the decisions behind women’s health belong to lawmakers, many being men who will never know what it means to be pregnant. What many forget is that abortion was not designed, nor constitutes, for women to get one at nine months along, or to get them as a form of birth control. The significance of abortion precedes in its ability to help victims of rape, incest, or abuse who were forcibly impregnated, to help women struggling financially or mentally who cannot raise a child, and to aid those who will have a condition in which birth would be fatal.
Everyone has a different circumstance, and WHY they get the abortion doesn’t matter. What does matter is that everyone retains their bodily autonomy and that this form of healthcare remains legal and accessible to ALL, not just the rich. Former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg fought diligently to preserve this right, and I can only imagine that she is currently rolling in her grave over this disgrace. So many people know and love someone who has had an abortion- 1 in 4 women will have an abortion in their life. The debate over when or why a woman should need one is futile at best and distracts from the true heart of the issue: women are more than their bodies; they are humans, and just like men who get to choose whether or not they want to have vasectomies, they should have a say over whether or not to carry a pregnancy. To force us to do otherwise would imply we are nothing more than incubators for human creation.
At the end of the day, even if you may not be pro-choice for yourself, I ask that you kindly be pro-choice for the all the women who are raped, the women in an abusive relationship, the women financially unable to support a child, the women dealing with medical complications, and the women who just simply don’t want to host a fetus for nine months. Choice has formed the very backbone of our society, and more than abortion, restricting that right for women is inherently unconstitutional. If Roe is overturned, the legality of abortion becomes determined by the state, and while Massachusetts may not be one to worry about there are plenty of others that need fighting for, especially when it comes to accessibility, History has proven that banning abortions will never truly ban them, it’ll only stop the safe ones.