On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade. This ruling affirmed a woman’s right to abortion under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In a 5-4 decision, the justices ruled that a woman’s right to privacy extended to her decision about whether or not to have an abortion. Last week, that ruling was overturned by the new conservative majority on the Supreme Court. So what does this mean for you?
If you are a woman in the United States, this ruling means that your right to abortion is now in danger. abortion could become illegal in many states, and women could be forced to travel long distances to access abortion care. This would disproportionately impact low-income women and women of color, who already face significant barriers to accessing abortion care.
It is important to remember that abortion is still legal in all 50 states. However, this ruling opens the door for individual states to start passing laws that restrict abortion access. We could see a patchwork of abortion laws across the country, with some states making it very difficult or even impossible to get an abortion.
We don’t know exactly what the future holds, but one thing is for sure: we must remain vigilant in our fight for abortion rights. We must continue to speak out and demand that our politicians protect our right to abortion care. We cannot let this ruling take us backwards.
So what can you do? Get involved with your local abortion rights organizations. Attend rallies and marches. Call your representatives and demand that they protect abortion rights. This is our fight, and we will not give up without a fight.
Additional Resources:
– [The New York Times: “Abortion Will Remain Legal in All 50 States, Activists Say”](nytimes.com/2018/06/28/
