About 2 weeks ago (January 22) marked 46 years since the supreme court ruled on the case, making abortion legal. Since then, the right to abortion has been under constant criticism and representatives try to make abortion illegal.
Abortion is legal in the United States, yet there are restrictive abortion policies across the country that try to prevent abortion- making it almost impossible for women to receive the procedure. The policies range from mandatory waiting periods before a woman can undergo the procedure and informed consent laws which require women to receive information regarding all of their options. Above all lies the Target Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws. The law’s purpose is mainly to limit access to abortion. It is one thing to have laws in place to have a patient’s health and wellbeing first but is another thing to have unnecessary laws in place to limit women’s access to clinics and options. Along with the laws, “19 states have laws prohibiting partial-birth abortions, 43 states prohibit abortions beyond the point of “fetal viability,” 38 states require parental consent, 17 states require women to be given counseling, 28 states maintain waiting periods (usually between 24 and 72 hours), and 11 restrict coverage of abortions in private insurance plans, with the exception of endangerment to the mother’s life” (Cheung, Kylie).
So to wrap it up, a lot has been said and done in the 46 years of Roe v. Wade. I always like to think of how different the situation would be if the men in Congress had to give birth to children… I do not think we would be where we are now. But that is just thinking, and you know they say, actions speak louder than words. So how can you get involved to protect our right to abortion/ get involved in the pro-choice community?
You can donate, volunteer, and message your state legislators! One person can only do so much but their impact can determine the fate of our rights. It has been 46 years and let’s try to make the next 46 years count by protecting our rights and make access to abortions more accessible in the United States.