The year is 1973, Disco is reigning supreme, The Sting and The Exorcist will battle it out for the number one movie in theaters, and Me and Mrs. Jones can be heard playing from the radio of a Chevy Impala. Meanwhile, with a 7-to-2 majority vote in favor of Norma McCorvey, Roe v Wade has just been decided. Fast forward to July 2018 and CNN has just reported that the appointment of a new justice to the Supreme Court may lead to an overturn for Roe v Wade. More surprising are the reactions to this news. Although there are people outraged by this potential decision, there’s an entire generation of scholars who don’t know the story of Roe v Wade and its significance. Furthermore, the 2016 presidential election (and the voting details) play a major role in this decision, but no one is discussing how.
First, The Backstory– In 1969, a 21- year old Norma McCorvey was pregnant with her third child. Not wanting to have another child, McCorvey originally was going to claim that she was raped by her significant other. During this time abortion was illegal unless there was a rape or a case of incest. Since there was no record of the incident, Norma decided not to move forward with the supposed rape allegation, still leaving her pregnant. Not having many (legal) options and after the clinics performing abortions were forcibly closed down, Norma decided to challenge the rulings on abortions. Norma McCorvey would be the first to try this case.
The 2016 Presidential Election– Barack Obama’s presidency (2008-2016) was a historical and game-changing presidency. The first African American president had been elected and the Democratic party was in place after an eight-year run of the Republican party. Additionally, this election season was critical because a lot of people who don’t usually vote, African American people, young people, and people in “Urban” areas were going to the voting polls, some for the first time. Hoping to continue the trend of moving the country “forward”, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders became the frontrunners for the Democratic party.
The Campaign– Hillary Clinton has a history of working in politics. Not only did she assist with her husband’s campaign, but Hillary was also the U.S. Senator for the city of New York from 2001-2009 and the Secretary of State from 2009-2013. However, it was her past that made her seem less presidential. Clinton received a lot of backlash for comments made during her husband’s and former president, William Clinton’s, 1996 campaign by using the term “super-predators” to describe African American youth. Although qualified and having met the requirements to be a presidential candidate, this reminder made a lot of voters second guess their choice. Then there’s Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders served as the junior United States Senator for Vermont in 2007, worked as a chairman for Veteran Affairs, and even was a member of the House of Representatives.
Like Clinton, although qualified for the position, Sander’s comments were brought into question. Bernie was an advocate for free college and seemingly only appealed to younger generations. This idea made Bernie seem like an extremist and unconcerned with all voters. Great idea, but voters saw this as too ambitious. Now the Democratic party voters have split down the middle. Do they back the name calling a politician or the dreamer? On the other side, there’s Donald Trump who doesn’t have a background in politics, but he’s an accomplished businessman. While the Democratic party voters were going back and forth comparing and contrasting the two candidates, the Republican party has fully backed and supported Trump.
The Results Are In; The Big Upset– The democratic party’s official nominee was Hillary Clinton and the voters are still split down the middle, but the candidate has been chosen. Now to the voting booth. The Hillary supporters did make their way to the voting polls, but that wasn’t enough. This too would be a historic presidency. If elected, Hillary would have the first female president. What should have happened is the democratic party should have come together as they did for the 2008 and 2012 election to support one candidate. Unfortunately, the party remained divided.
When it was announced that Hillary had won the Democratic primary, the Democratic party turned from divided to apathetic; at least the Bernie Sanders supporters did. Feeling defeated, while Hillary supporters made their way to the voting booth, Bernie’s supporters didn’t go anywhere. You’d think that the voters would band together or at least adopt the attitude of “Even though my candidate didn’t win, I’ll vote for the official one”. But no, it seems like the Bernie Sanders supporters left their support with him.
A Man of His Word– While the Democratic party was trying to figure out what’s next, Donald Trump became president. When Trump ran for president in 2016, he pledged to appoint “pro-life” justices to the Supreme Court. This is no surprise considering Republicans are traditionally pro-family, pro-guns, and pro-life. Even Trump’s running mate and now-vice president Mike Pence said that he hoped to see Roe v. Wade end up on the “ash heap of history.” So why are people upset. Donald Trump, the President, kept his word. A politician who made promises during his campaign is now honoring them. Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen?. Lawrence Bagley, a Republican State Representative for Louisiana, offered his support saying, “Anything that we can do to soften the blow of Roe v. Wade or weaken it or dilute it, it’s up to us to do that,”. This notion is rapidly gaining backing.
A Change of Heart– Where Norma McCorvey had been living as a quiet, private lesbian with her partner Connie Gonzales, she released her 1994 autobiography I am Roe telling her side of the story. It had been speculated that Norma was a lesbian, but it wasn’t until after the trial began and the decision was made that she began her same-sex relationship. In the same year, she became a Christian. It was then she began her work as an advocate for the pro-life movement while working at an abortion clinic. Norma also started her work with Operation Rescue [National] (today known as Operation Save American). Operation Rescue [National] is an organization made up of conservative Christians. They openly speak out against the support of human-induced abortions or “therapeutic abortions” which are performed when there’s a health concern of the woman or fetus.
The following year at her book signing, Norma met a man who would change and influence her new lifestyle even more. She met the National Director of Operation Rescue and Evangelical Minister Flip Benham. Befriending Benham led to Norma’s baptism, her quitting her job at the abortion clinic to work on the Operation Rescue [National] campaign full-time (to make abortion illegal), and her working on her second book, Won by Love. The book was later published in 1998.
When asked would she do it [take Roe v. Wade to the Supreme Court] she said “no”. During her time at the abortion clinic, she kept imagining all the women who were killing embryos, which to her meant killing babies. “I felt crushed under the truth of this realization. I had to face up to the awful reality. Abortion wasn’t about ‘products of conception’. It wasn’t about ‘missed periods’. It was about children being killed in their mother’s wombs. All those years I was wrong. Signing that affidavit, I was wrong. Working in an abortion clinic, I was wrong. No more of this first trimester, second trimester, third-trimester stuff. Abortion—at any point—was wrong. It was so clear. Painfully clear.”
2018 wasn’t the first attempt at overturning Roe v. Wade. Norma McCorvey actually tried to overturn Roe v. Wade in the 2005 McCorvey v. Hill, but the Supreme Court decided it to be a moot point. In 2006 Norma appeared in Lake of Fire, a pro-choice documentary. She, of course, discussed the case and her conversion to Catholicism.
McCorvey publicly backed and endorsed Ron Paul as the Republican presidential candidate in January of 2008. She issued the statement “I support Ron Paul for president because we share the same goal, that of overturning Roe v. Wade. He has never wavered on the issue of being pro-life and has a voting record to prove it. He understands the importance of civil liberties for all, including the unborn.” Obviously, Ron Paul didn’t win, but that didn’t stop Norma from speaking her mind and speaking out against pro-life. She’d continue her pro-life activism until her death.
On February 18, 2017, Norma McCorvey passed away due to heart failure.
Piecing It All Together – The history of Roe v. Wade, reason for the backstory, and lengthy recap of the 2016 presidential campaign and election is necessary because it’s all connected. Unlike Republicans, Democrats are known for being “pro-choice”. Republicans and Democrats being on opposite sides of this issue is nothing new; the pro-life versus pro-choice debate is decades old. It’s just for the first time, the overturning of Roe v. Wade has made a movement. There’s now a chance of Roe v. Wade being a decision of the past. However, this change in history could have been prevented. Let’s play the “What If” game. What if instead of working against one another, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders did more to bring their followers together? The numbers were there, the care just wasn’t. Democrats should have done a better job thinking long term rather than being seemingly uninterested sore losers.
Kavanaugh Confirmed to Supreme Court- With a 50-48 vote, Judge Brett Kavanaugh is now Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In case you missed it, Brett Kavanaugh was in the process of being vetted as he was on the short list of nominees for Supreme Court Justice, the highest court in the land. As he was going through this process, the Washington Post tip line received a call from Christine Blasey Ford. Ford is a Professor of Psychology at Palo Alto University. Kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted Ford during the early 1980s. “I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified” Ford said as she took the floor in court.
This isn’t the first time a Supreme Court Justice was confirmed into the position after having been accused of sexual misconduct. Clarence Thomas is an American judge, lawyer, and government official who currently serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Anita Hill, a black attorney and former colleague of Thomas’s, testified that Thomas had subjected her to comments of a sexual nature, which she felt constituted sexual harassment or at least “behavior that is unbefitting an individual who will be a member of the Court.
Long story short, Clarence Thomas was confirmed and currently is the most senior associate justice on the Court.
How do these two compare? Aside from their roles, it’s their support of Roe v. Wade being overturned. During Thomas’s confirmation process, his peers were mostly concerned with whether or not he shared to same values of his predecessors. Clarence Thomas was briefly mentioned during Kavanaugh’s hearing with questions of an unfortunate accusatory trend. Reporters were left asking is this de-ja-vu?
What This Means Moving Forward – It’s really a state by state case. Some states, like Louisiana, are showing their support. If you live in a Republican or “red state”, your state is more than likely headed in the director being pro-life. If supreme court decisions that are 40 years old are being overturned, there is a chance that others might be in jeopardy of the same fate.
For voters, this is something like a cautionary tale and warning. Not only should voters support their candidate, but they should also pay attention to the other candidate’s campaigns and promises, too. It’s not enough to pick a candidate and vote for them. Yes, you’re performing your civic duty by voting, but not doing your homework or deciding not to vote since your candidate loss is just as bad as not voting at all. This decision shouldn’t be a shock because again, Trump didn’t do anything he said he wouldn’t. He didn’t hide his intentions or goals. He publicly announced his support of not only overturning this decision but putting the people in place, like Brett Kavanaugh, to make sure this decision is backed. As disappointing as it may be, Trump is being true to his campaign.
Overall, whether you’re pro-life or pro-choice, this decision affects women in different ways for a long period of time. This scenario is a lesson that at any moment, a law or decision can be challenged no matter how old it is. If pro-choice voters are really that disturbed by this outcome, consider becoming one of the decision makers. I’ll end with the old saying, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”.