By Jess Paul
On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court decided in a 7-2 ruling that the right to abortion is protected under the 14th amendment which protects personal liberties and interests that are not explicitly outlined in the Constitution such as the right to privacy. This ruling struck down several state bans on abortion and allowed pregnant women in every state to access safe abortions. On June 24, 2022, this critical ruling was reversed and allowed several states to move to enact abortion bans therefore robbing women of their right to safe health care while imposing on their 14th amendment rights. As women’s rights collectively took a step back, women across the United States are left to figure out how to obtain a safe abortion, face a rise in maternal deaths specifically in low income communities, and wonder what rights may be taken from them next.
After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, 26 states had abortion bans or restrictions ready to implement immediately but what these states fail to realize is this will not stop abortions. This will only stop safe abortions. Shortly after the Roe v. Wade decision was leaked, several women were interviewed about the reality of life before wide-spread access to safe abortions. These women recall hospital wards where women were giving birth and other women were there to exercise their right to choose. During this time, these women were racked with great shame as their right to choose was not legally supported in every state and they even faced the possibility of criminal charges. Some interviewees spoke of women coming into these hospitals and safe houses with no money or way to pay for safe abortions. They recall these ladies going home and attempting at-home abortions, several of which lead to their deaths [5]. These ladies also recalled there were septic abortion wards in the hospitals full of women who had either botched at-home abortions using knitting needles, crochet hooks, and anything they could find. Some of the women went to someone who was unreliable [5]. These same women predict the reversal of Roe v. Wade will diminish women because their rights have been stripped and women who are of lower income are going to be the most greatly affected. In a post Roe v. Wade world, the harsh reality is that many women will have to travel to another state to receive an abortion as 29% of the population of reproductive age women are living in states where they do not have access to abortion clinics [3]. While some women may be able to foot the cost of traveling to another state for an abortion, many low income women will not.
Based on data taken in North Carolina in 1967, just six years before the ruling in Roe v. Wade, there were an estimated 829,000 illegal abortions and 17% of maternal deaths had abortion complications listed at the official cause of death [4]. Since abortions were not legal, there is not much accurate data surrounding abortion related deaths prior to Roe v. Wade. Over the 49 years Roe v. Wade was in effect, abortion related complications and deaths dropped dramatically as women across the United States were able to access health care. However, with the overturning of the case, it is expected that the maternal death rate will rise by 24% on average for all races/ethnicities [6]. Furthermore, maternal death rates among Non- Hispanic Black people are expected to rise 39% and as access to safe abortions continues to become scarce, these groups will be at a greater disadvantage and the rate will continue to climb [6]. Finally, maternal mortality rates will continue to rise as abortion becomes criminalized. As states continue to crack down on the legality of abortion and turn it into a criminal action, mortality rates among women in those states will increase an estimated 21% and a staggering 33% among African Americans.
As the availability of wide-spread and safe abortions comes to a close, women in the United States wonder what will be restricted next. Many people turn to the ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut which deemed Connecticut’s ban on the use of contraceptives violated the right to marital privacy. Following the onset of strict abortion regulations with no exceptions for incest or rape, Texas lawmakers are cracking down on the access to birth control. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that allowing minors to obtain free birth control without parental consent at federally funded state clinics, under the program known as Title X, was violating parental rights and state law [2]. Furthermore, Republicans’ new proposals also include penalizing companies that help their Texas employees seek abortions elsewhere. From criminalizing abortion and revoking the ability to protect against unwanted pregnancies, women’s bodily autonomy is under attack.
The effects of overturning Roe v. Wade does not stop within the boundaries of the United States. Women across the world will feel the impact. After all, the United States led the way for many other countries to pass abortion related protocols [1]. Women around the globe recall feeling fearful as the news broke and worried. The overturning of Roe v. Wade will be remembered by generations of women to come as pro-choice groups continue to fight for women’s right to choose through means such as rallies and refusing to let the movement die.
Works Cited:
[1] “Anti-Abortion Ruling Is an Assault on Human Rights.” Open Society Foundations, 24 June 2022, https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/newsroom/the-overturning-of-roe-v-wade-is-an-assault-on-women-and-democracy-globally.
[2] Coronado, Acacia. “Birth Control Ruling to See Fresh Scrutiny in Republican-Controlled Texas Capitol.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 10 Jan. 2023, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/birth-control-ruling-to-see-fresh-scrutiny-in-republican-controlled-texas-capitol.
[3] Fuentes, Liza. “Inequity in US Abortion Rights and Access: The End of Roe Is Deepening Existing Divides.” Guttmacher Institute, 25 Jan. 2023, https://www.guttmacher.org/2023/01/inequity-us-abortion-rights-and-access-end-roe-deepening-existing-divides.
[4] Gold, Rachel Benson. “Lessons from Before Roe: Will Past Be Prologue?” Guttmacher Institute, vol. 6, no. 1, 1 Mar. 2003, https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2003/03/lessons-roe-will-past-be-prologue. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.
[5] Nawaz, Amna, et al. “Women Reflect on What Life Was like before Roe v. Wade.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 21 June 2022, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/women-reflect-on-what-life-was-like-before-roe-v-wade.
I liked how you included NC-specific information to make it particularly relevant to our community.
Understanding pre-Roe America is critical when discussing America since the overturning of this critical ruling. The memory of how America used to be when abortion was not nationally legal is now relevant again after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Great article, I loved that you included information on how abortion bans will disproportionately impact already marginalized communities, such as Black Americans, as this information is often left out when discussing the effects of abortion bans. In a way, this seems like another form of official memory-makers asserting themselves and their narrative over vernacular groups, and physically endangering them through their ideology’s direct link to healthcare access.
I think an instrumental part of pro-choice campaigning today should be to focus on these specific impacts and intersectionality, as by campaigning for bodily autonomy for a variety of groups (eg. LGBT+, racial groups, socioeconomic classes), they can bring a particular collective memory into the universal realm, and demonstrate the impact of abortion bans on issues of bodily autonomy and government control as a whole.
The article does a great job at explaining the differences between the time when Roe v. Wade was in effect to after it was overturned. The statistics provided that relate to maternal deaths were shocking. It is scary to think that this number will increase by 24 percent with the overturn of Roe v. Wade. With the statistics being close to same as they were before the case, collective memory will only enhance the memory of the time before. An example of this is one provided by the article. At home abortions with many complications, other than death, will also increase. This will bring back memories for people that lived before 1973.
I also like how you included the issues about contraceptives as well. While nothing has happened yet, the overturn of Roe v. Wade not only changed the legal system when it comes to abortions, but paved the path for other things. One example could be possibly making it harder to obtain contraceptives in the future.
I found your article very interesting and impactful. I wrote on the impact of overturning Roe in Southern States with trigger laws that went into effect following Dobbs. The idea that these “bans” will stop abortions is ridiculous. Maternal deaths will go back up in a time where it is so easy to prevent these casualties with modern medicine and technology. I agree with another comment that appreciates your usage of NC specific information. I feel that this issue is not nearly covered enough in NC. Great article!
This article provides a compelling and thorough examination of the consequences of overturning Roe vs. Wade. The author has done an excellent job incorporating data and personal stories to illustrate the impact on women’s health and the potential rise in maternal deaths. Discussing how this affects low-income communities and different ethnicities adds an essential layer of nuance. In addition, there is also an inclusion of the international perspective on this issue is a valuable reminder that the consequences extend beyond the US.
Your article was very informative! Something that stood out to me was how abortions were before Roe v. Wade. The personal story really illustrated the conditions these women went through before access to safe abortions. These women’s memories hold so much more power now in a post–Roe v. Wade era. Each of them had such traumatic stories to tell, and you showed how severe this problem is, especially now. Together, with their stories now being told, they are creating and sharing their own collective memory; their memory of receiving abortions before Roe v. Wade and now, its reversal.