On Jan. 22, 1973, Roe v. Wade was instituted in the United States, giving millions of women reproductive rights (including the right to get an abortion). Each year since then, Jan. 22 has been known as Roe v. Wade Day, showing that abortion care is essential healthcare in this country. However, in 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with the Jackson v. Dobbs decision and began allowing states to ban abortion care. Not only did this set back years of progress for women’s reproductive rights, but it set back the fight for women’s rights as a whole.
With Donald Trump being elected President of the United States, and a Republican party majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, it is more important now than ever that women across the country fight for their reproductive rights and become aware of the changing laws within this country.
As of this year, 41 states have signed some type of abortion ban into law, with most states making it illegal based on gestational periods. Additionally, Bill 722 has been introduced to Congress. If passed, the bill will institute a federal abortion ban under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
A federal abortion ban would do more harm than good in this country. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, hundreds of women across the country have been punished for receiving abortion care. A federal abortion ban would only cause more women in the United States to face criminal charges for receiving healthcare, adding to the stress women already deal with.
There are many things you can do to help keep abortion legal in this country. Here are a few:
- Tell your Congress representatives to support bills that protect women’s rights, not restrict them.
- Donate to women seeking out abortion care and organizations that support abortion care.
- Attend protests and marches for women’s reproductive freedoms.
- Be aware of crisis pregnancy centers like AVA Care, which are actually anti-abortion clinics that aim to convince you not to get an abortion.
Protecting a woman’s right to get an abortion is important for a multitude of reasons. Abortions can save lives if the mother is put at risk by carrying their baby to term. Abortions are essential healthcare for women in this country. When you prohibit abortion care, it only leads women to find unsafe ways to get abortions and results in more deaths than needed. Abortion rights empower women to make decisions about their own bodies.
I can still remember the day I found out Roe v. Wade had been overturned. I was going to the movie theater with my friends and was astounded by the Supreme Court’s decision. I was ranting to my boyfriend at the time about it when all of a sudden, he said that women who get abortions were “criminals”. I felt disgusted by his words and how he thought so little about how abortions can protect women and enable them to continue their education or maintain a place in the workforce.
Men should not be telling us what we can and cannot do with our bodies. Our bodies, our choice.