Roe v Wade: How 9 People Have The Fate Of Millions In Their Hands
The 22nd of January 1973 marked the day women were given the choice over their own bodies in Roe v Wade, the landmark US Supreme Court case. Fast forward almost 50 years, and women are set to be stripped of this right.
In a leaked majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito writes that “we hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled” and that the ruling had “inflamed debate and deepened division”. Surely denying women the right to choose what happens to their own bodies will deepen divisions more? But on a panel made up of 9 unelected judges, 6 of whom are men, I doubt this received adequate consideration.
As well as this, 6/9 of the judges were appointed by Republican Presidents, with Trump alone appointing 3: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. This indicates a clear political bias in what is supposed to be a politically neutral branch. For an unelected body, they hold far too much decision-making power. If the draft document opinion holds, abortion will be made illegal immediately in 22 states. This is not at all democratic, with Pew Research finding that 61% of the US public believe abortion should be legal in all/most cases.
So if the majority of the public argues that abortion should remain legal, why is the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade?
Religion plays a large role in the opposition to abortion, with 77% of White Evangelical Protestants believing abortion should be illegal in all/most cases, whilst 82% of religiously unaffiliated Americans feel it should be legal in all/most cases. Many argue that the politicization of abortions was a tactic to win over religious voters in the build up to elections, which has since spiralled out of control to the point we are at now.
Abortion should not be a politicial issue. It is a personal medical choice, and banning abortion will only ban medically safe abortions. Annually, 5-13% of maternal deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortions, according to WHO (2021). These deaths are currently prevented in the US due to Roe v Wade, however this being overturned could lead to catastrophic consequences.
The main contradiction I find with Republicans who are pro-life is that despite wanting to protect the lives of unborn children, they fiercely object to any form of gun control, despite 248 mass shootings in 2022 alone. How are they “pro-life” when it involves a clump of cells, but ignore this when young children are murdered in schools?
Some are so pro-life that they would murder for the cause. That makes complete logical sense, right? A bill proposed by Texan law-maker Rep Bryan Slaton states that women and physicians who perform the procedure should face criminal charges that could carry the death penalty.
It makes me shudder to think that these bills might actually be passed, and that the fate of millions of women lies in the hands of 9 unelected individuals.
But how has this happened? Due to abortion being legalised by the judicial branch of government, it was never codified into the constitution. Since congressional leaders at the time failed to protect the right of safe abortion access in statute, it can be overruled by the Supreme Court now. In fact, the last time a constitutional amendment was made was 1992, and since then Congress has become increasingly bipartisan, which has prevented the required ⅔ majority being achieved in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Due to the structure of the branches of government in the US, it will be virtually impossible for Biden to overturn this ruling. With the thin majority he currently holds in the house, passing an amendment to codify abortion looks more unlikely than ever. Biden has implored voters to elect members of Congress who are pro-choice at the November mid-term elections, in order to get closer to codifying it into law by giving the Democrats a larger majority.
In the meantime, we can expect a final ruling in June/July, and if Roe v Wade is overturned, Canada has already opened its doors to any American travelling there for an abortion. However, women who cannot afford to travel will still be disproportionately impacted by this ruling. Not only will this cause more inequality, but also overwhelm the already fragile care system, with more children being placed into foster care.
Sources:
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/17/key-facts-about-the-abortion-debate-in-america/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/02/roe-v-wade-abortion-supreme-court-draft-opinion
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abortion
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/03/09/texas-legislature-abortion-criminalize-death-penalty/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/04/us-supreme-court-abortion-explainer
https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-news/us/956630/can-joe-biden-save-us-abortion-rights