In 1969, Norma McCorvey, or Jane Roe, became pregnant with her third child and ultimately decided she wanted an abortion. However, at the time it was illegal in Texas to receive an abortion unless it was to save the mother’s life.
With the help of two district attorneys, Roe decided to file a lawsuit in the U.S. federal court against Henry Wade, a local district attorney, claiming Texas abortion laws were unconstitutional. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ended up ruling in Roe’s favor which was then appealed and brought to the Supreme Court. In 1973, the Supreme Court ended up ruling in Roe’s favor as well in a 7-2 vote, which made it a fundamental right to privacy under the 14th Amendment which protects a woman’s right to an abortion at any time for any reason.
50 years ago this was a very controversial subject and still is considering Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24. In anticipation of this ruling, many states enacted trigger laws which strictly regulated abortions, even when medically necessary, once Roe was overturned. Because of these trigger laws it will be illegal in Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming for a pregnant woman or person to get a safe abortion. There are a few other states that are also going back to their original laws from before the Roe v. Wade ruling.
Because of this decision, there has been a lot of public outcry across the country as well as protests. Many think this is undoing 50 years of hard work for women’s rights and that the medical needs and rights for women are not respected or correctly taught in the United States.
In Minnesota, on June 25, Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order to help further protect Minnesotans and others seeking abortions.
“While abortion remains legal in Minnesota,” Walz stated in a Tweet, “Minnesota’s neighboring states are expected to severely restrict reproductive freedom. That’s why I signed an executive order to help protect people seeking or providing abortions in Minnesota from legal repercussions in other states.”
However, in November things may change as Walz’s opponent, Scott Jensen, is extremely opposed when it comes to reproductive and abortion rights even when it comes to rape and incest. Jensen has even said he will try to ban abortion if he is elected.
There are many reasons why someone may want an abortion. While it is not necessary to explain themselves, some of the reasons may include the following: not being financially stable; simply not wanting nor ready for a child; child was conceived by abuse, rape or incest; the mother could potentially die from giving birth; or the baby may not make it to term, among many other reasons.
The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries and it’s already higher than it has been in decades. There are many complications during pregnancy that could be prevented. Most maternal deaths occur in low-income areas where there is not quality access to healthcare. Because of the overturn of Roe, I personally expect the maternal mortality rate to become even higher in the states that have now banned abortion.
Lastly, many are arguing if abortion is to be illegal and since women will now be forced to have children, then will there be more support for them financially. The simple answer to this is, probably not. Even during the most recent crisis of a shortage in baby formula, there was nothing done to help mothers and their children to obtain formula to be healthy and stay alive.
In all reality it is not cheap to have a child in the United States Just the medical bills from giving birth alone are enough to deter someone from having a family. Even beyond that, I can’t help but think of the inevitably large increase of children being put up for adoption and then ultimately put into foster care which in the United States already houses more than 400,000 children.
Based on those reasons, as well as many others that are unmentioned, it leads me to believe the U.S. government, as well as those who are happy about the overturn of Roe v. Wade, do not care about mothers during or after they are pregnant and they do not care about the children they feel the need to speak out for while they are merely being developed.
