What the Overturning of Roe v. Wade Means for Americans

On the 24th of June 2022, millions of women in the US lost their constitutional right to abortion. The news came after the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade: a landmark ruling that legalised abortion and has stood for 50 years. The announcement was made weeks after leaked documents hinted that the Supreme Court was in favour of repealing Roe v. Wade. The judgement will transform abortion rights in the US, as individual states now have the right to ban the procedure. Following this decision, almost half of US states are expected to introduce new restrictions or bans.

Thirteen states so far have already passed so-called ‘trigger laws’ which automatically outlaw abortions following the Supreme Court’s ruling. A number of others are likely to pass new restrictions quickly. In total, abortion access is expected to be cut off for about 36 million women of reproductive age, according to research from Planned Parenthood: a healthcare organisation that provides abortions. In Arkansas, one of the states subject to trigger law, the sound of distant sobbing could be heard as the doors to the patient area of an abortion clinic were closed for perhaps the last time.

Demonstrators representing both pro-choice and pro-life ideologies gathered outside of the Supreme Court as the news was revealed. One pro-life activist described herself as “elated” as she heard of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, proceeding to state: "It's not enough just to make this the law of the land. To be pro-life is to make [abortion] unthinkable.”

Pro-choice activist Alexis West explains: “I am very upset because I don’t think anyone should be able to dictate what we can do with our bodies except the woman who actually has the uterus.” Demonstrator Gilda Griffin-Thomas shares a similar view, arguing: “I feel like it’s up to the female. If she wants to have an abortion, it’s her right, than to have someone dictate what she should do with her own body.”

One expert estimates that, prior to the introduction of Roe v. Wade, as many as 11,000 US women underwent illegal abortions each year. The methods used in at-home abortions varied from poisoning to the use of coat-hangers to remove the foetus. It is estimated that over 200 women died annually from these methods.

In the decades since the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, anti-abortion rulings have gradually “pared back” access in more than a dozen states. The precedent set by Roe v. Wade allowed not only for bodily autonomy and freedom of choice, but also saved many lives as there was no longer a need for unsafe abortions within the country. It is extremely unusual for the Supreme Court to reverse its own legal precedent so dramatically; the move is likely to polarise the nation even further.

Particularly affected will be those from lower-income backgrounds that can neither afford to travel to a state in which abortion is legal nor care for a child, women of colour who face a higher mortality rate in childbirth than their white counterparts, and those who are forced to endure the traumatic ordeal of childbirth after being sexually assaulted or raped. Twitter users are also encouraging those using period tracking apps to delete their data, as this information may potentially identify patients who have had abortions, incriminating them.

The decision poses a grave threat to the LGBTQ+ community, as well. Lesbians (22.8%) and bisexual women (27.2%) are more likely than heterosexual women (15.4%) to have had an abortion, according to HRC’s analysis of the 2017-2019 National Survey for Family Growth. Additionally, 36% of transgender people who have been pregnant have considered terminating their pregnancies by themselves, meaning without medical aid or supervision, and nearly 20% went through with this attempt. In some cases, these patients had been denied access to abortions due to their healthcare provider’s stance on either abortion or their patients’ gender identity. There are fears that gender-affirming surgery and medication may also be restricted by the repealing of Roe v. Wade.

credit: The Hill

The Human Rights Campaign group explains that LGBTQ+ people are increasingly likely to plan for families. These adults may require fertility treatments such as IVF, which could also be threatened by the Supreme Court’s latest decision. According to one survey, more than 40% of LGBTQ+ adults were considering conceiving through assisted reproductive technology (ART), such as IVF, IUI (Intrauterine insemination), and at-home insemination.

Following the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas also expressed his opinion that all ‘substantive due process precedents’ should be reconsidered, including Lawrence v Thomas, the 2003 decision that established the right to same-sex intimacy, and Obergefell v Hodges, the 2015 decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

This ruling sets a dangerous precedent. The overturning of Roe v. Wade may remove the constitutional right to an abortion in a medically safe environment, but it does not eliminate the possibility of unsafe abortions carried out at home.