For the past 50 years, ever since America’s Supreme court decision on Roe V. Wade, women in America have had the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. Since June 25th, 2022, that right has gone away. The law has been passed by the majority of the Court, it has been erased from the law book and this shocking change is about to bring division in America’s states, which will be deciding for themselves whether the Roe v. Wade law should be kept or not.
The abortion flash point all across the USA, a wave of new restrictions gaining steam in states far beyond Alabama and Missouri are putting into place strict anti-abortion laws. The public opinion, especially among women in the USA, is clear that this major change is taking away women’s right to choose. A right that has been in place for nearly 50 years. Forced motherhood is illegitimate.
It’s no secret, that these are some of the most extreme abortion laws America’s ever seen. In fact, Alabama and Missouri have made abortion a crime, even in the case of rape and incest. And for some Republicans, this is a step too far. For instance, Ex-President Trump tweeted last year that he is strongly pro-life with the three exceptions: rape, incest, and protecting the life of the mother. The same position was taken by Ronald Reagan. However, those three exceptions are still bullshit because it is still taking away a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body. It is just simple as that. So far, it just seems reasonable by comparison. So, for every woman in America now who wants to be in control of her own body, this is a scary time.
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Abortion has been one of the most divisive issues like racism in the United States, with opponents citing religious beliefs to declare it immoral, while abortion rights advocates say a woman should have the right to choose on matters affecting her body. Now that the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade abortion law, Americans worry what other laws might be facing the same fate. Same-sex marriage? Right to contraception?
All this chaos started in May 2022 when the U.S Supreme Court leaked a draft opinion, which was published by the Journal Politico, stating its intentions to overturn the historic Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. The leak has triggered a shock wave through the country, with a mass of people protesting about overturning the « right » to abortion. Now that this law has been finally overturned, opponents or pro-life people think that overturning Roe’s abortion law will save many innocent lives.
In a historic decision powered by its conservative majority, the US Supreme Court did not only uphold a Mississippi law banning abortion after fifteen weeks, it took the additional step of overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion law, leaving the issue up to the states. The outcome of this or the immediate effect of this will be to uphold the Mississippi law that would ban abortion law after fifteen weeks. But this also means that, in roughly half of the country, abortion is as of now or soon will be illegal Thirteen states have already triggered laws that were intended to make Roe v. Wade’s abortion law illegal in those states.
Up to now, opinion polls show a majority of Americans support abortion rights. However, according to medical experts, the abortion must be made in the first six weeks of pregnancy. Roe v. Wade granted American women that constitutional right back in 1973. But according to many observers such as conservative Samuel Alito, Roe v. Wade was wrong from the start and stated that this law was about terminating a life rather than protecting women.
Where is this chaos taking America?
A growing number of the U.S States such as Oklahoma among others are moving to restrict access to abortion now that is formally overturned by the Supreme Court. This has become a direct assault on the dignity, rights, and lives of American women living in those states, not to mention decades of settled law.
Overturning this decision leaves abortion access to States to make their own decision. In fact, several states like Georgia, Alabama, and Missouri already have laws in place to ban abortion nationwide. In those states, doctors caught performing an abortion might face a heavy sentence of up to 99 years in jail. Yes, 99 years behind bars.
Many Americans are pissed off because of extreme laws in place of anti-abortion. It is no secret that these are some of the extreme laws America’s ever seen. The American States like Alabama have gone far by making abortion a crime. Women in Alabama or Missouri can’t even get an Uber to get to an abortion clinic. Many drivers have to cancel their routes in fear of getting sued just for transporting a woman to an abortion clinic. Far worse, even if a woman from Alabama goes into another state that allows abortion, on her way back she could get finned up to US$100.000, or worse, going to jail!
Now that the abortion right is overturned, the legal fate of abortion is left up to individual states. However, abortion is likely to remain legal in some states, especially liberal states despite the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe’s law. But so far, since the law is finally overturned, abortion is likely possible to remain legal for some time. For instance, a dozen states have already laws in place protecting abortion rights. But, there are also other states, mostly Republican-led states, which have passed already laws against abortion in defiance of Roe v. Wade and support the Supreme Court decision.