The court case of Dobbs v. Jackson is a monumental moment in American memory and history. With the resurgence of abortions around 2020 and a social experience that is extremely focused on the issue, this decision came as a shock to many and had a rippling effect all over the United States. To give an excerpt from the court documents to explain the case, “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision”[1].
When it comes to access to safe abortions, it is a right that was enacted by Roe v. Wade, which said that the constitution provides grounds for individual liberty to induce abortion, and thus we saw a fairly steady rate in the United States. Now that this has been overturned, we have seen a rapid change from many states, mainly in the south. To quote Coverdale et. al in their article Access to Abortion After Dobbs… “As of August 25, 2022, nine states have banned abortion, four states have banned abortion at 6 weeks after the last menstrual period, and one state has banned abortion at 20 weeks after the last menstrual period”[2]. This makes it very difficult for women who previously had the means to abortion to get the care they need.
Because of this lack of access to safe abortions, an unfortunate alternative enters the narrative; unsafe and technically illegal abortion strategies. Although this concept is nothing new to the rest of the world, especially developing countries, as seen in The Lancet, “Every year, about 19–20 million abortions are done by individuals without the requisite skills, or in environments below minimum medical standards, or both.”[3], it is new to the US. Women that used to be able to go to their local planned parenthood or reliable medical provider, are now turning to strategies that not only of course endanger the safety of the fetus, they endanger themselves. “An estimated 68 000 women die as a result, and millions more have complications, many permanent. Important causes of death include hemorrhage, infection, and poisoning”[3]. This legislation is providing a barrier to health for the women in our country. This is a situation where we know that abortion is going to happen whether legal or not, and it is safer to provide legal access for all.
In terms of the memory of this topic and the social and human context surrounding abortion, there lies an extreme variance. There are many polarizing views ranging from avid supporters of anti abortion and abortion, which creates a very interesting social dynamic. Additionally, within the two respective groups there is even more dissonance with differing opinions on how long abortion should be allowed, to who, in what environment, etc. These layers of disagreement create a very foggy memory of the topic. However, all will agree that these sets of court cases will remain vivid in the way that in extreme moments of conflict, politically and socially, memories tend to grow strong and hold a very profound and biased place in the minds of the affected.
William Johnston
Works Cited
[1]Jackson Women’s Health Organization et al. v. Dobbs et al. (2022). 999 F.3d 530.
[2] Coverdale, J., Gordon, M.R., Beresin, E.V. et al. Access to Abortion After Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: Advocacy and a Call to Action for the Profession of Psychiatry. Acad Psychiatry 47, 1–6 (2023).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-022-01729-7
[3] Murray, C. J., & Lopez, A. D. (2006). Evidence-based health policy – Lessons from the Global Burden of Disease Study. The Lancet, 368(9549), 761-766. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69565-4
Its crazy that a legislation would choose against the livelihood of many individuals in order to input their own “moral” idea into society. The lack of safe abortion access really does take away lives and can make it really hard to have a child later on. The polarizing view points on the rights of autonomy in the hopes of “saving” the lives of the fetus really does kill the lives of the individuals impregnated. Your point on the memory of these cases is very true; especially in the case of the women who were alive during the decision of Roe v Wade and now the overturning of the same case.
the passing of roe v. wade set a good precedent for allowing abortion in most places, allowing women a safe method of getting an abortion if needed. It is amazing to see how little politicians/the supreme court care about such an issue with their decision to reverse roe v. wade. As you stated, it simply opens up women to dangerous procedures that should always be done by a trained doctor with proper materials. It’s an incredibly unfortunate point in time where so much progress was undone in the blink of an eye.
If an abortion is needed or wanted it is important that the mother has a safe space for the procedure to be performed at. Taking away the legality of an abortion does not stop them from happening, it only makes it unsafe. This connects back to another post made about abortion slogans. “Keep abortions safe and legal” is the perfect slogan in response to this court made decision. It was the government’s intent to cut back on fetal mortality, but it’s only appearing to do so. Just because the numbers aren’t there does not mean that it is not happening.
This post points out a really important idea that abortion will happen whether it is legal or not. Reproductive rights are something that are inherently personal. The person who is pregnant will find any way to end a pregnancy, if they choose. Acknowledging this, it’s irresponsible to let citizens carry out life-threatening interventions in their homes when the US has the medical technology to safely carry out these procedures. The Dobbs decision did not only decide whether individuals with a uterus could terminate pregnancy, but it also decided whether the government valued the life of the individual or potential life more.
I am not sure that I agree with the statement that, “this is a situation where we know that abortion is going to happen whether legal or not, and it is safer to provide legal access for all.” When abortion is outlawed, there will always be a subset of the population seeking abortions that will obtain ones illegally. These women are the women that this sentence is talking about. However, we must consider the subset of the population that will only obtain an abortion if it is legal. Because of this subset, the total number of abortions will go down when abortion is banned (since logically there is no-one that would get an abortion only if it is illegal but not legal). It is because of this fact that bans work. When abortion is banned, total abortion numbers drop. Similarly, when gun purchases are banned, gun ownership drops. For better and worse, bans work to varying extents.
Thus, while I personally believe abortion should remain legal in the US and abroad, this justification is flawed. Basing a pro-choice argument on more solid footing is a much better defense against scrutiny and attack.