On Friday, the US supreme court officially overturned the ‘Roe v Wade’ act of 1973, which had ensured women’s constitutional rights to abortion for 50 years. In overturning their 1973 ruling that abortion rights came under the umbrella of each US citizen’s “right to privacy”, the court has not entirely outlawed the procedure in the States. But it means that abortion’s legality can be decided by each state independently, with laws likely to staggeringly range in their leniency or stringency.
According to Planned Parenthood, the new ruling will mean a loss of access to abortion for over 36 million women, including victims of rape or incest or those who cannot care for a child. The ‘pro-life’ rhetoric is very convenient because its priority is the unborn fetus. Once a child is born, the US is a notoriously dangerous place to grow up – with a current baby formula shortage, lack of universal healthcare, and a global record for mass school shootings.
The issue will become central to countless court cases and legal battles. It is also likely to extend far beyond US borders. In a statement, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) warned that “decisions reversing progress gained have a wider impact on the rights and choices of women and adolescents everywhere.” It is easy to see how the new US regulations on abortion may see repercussions for women’s rights in lower and middle-income countries in terms of international funding and influence.
Besides the horror of women’s bodily autonomy being discarded, the Supreme Court ruling indicates and deepens the rot of America’s political divide. During Donald Trump’s presidency, he appointed three Supreme Court justices of Republican-leaning, tipping the court’s political majority. It was this majority that allowed the passing of the recent ruling. The three adjudicators of liberal, democratic leaning strongly dissented, accusing their fellow justices of betraying the “liberty and equality of women”. It is an incredibly bleak omen that the Supreme Court, an institution designed to be entirely independent of political party bias, has become the epitome of its divisiveness.
The overturning of Roe v Wade is undoubtedly a moral issue, but it has become an inescapably political one, too. The abject cynicism of this is evident in the campaign messaging of Democratic candidates in the wake of the ruling. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been criticised for exploiting the situation by asking voters to pledge $15 to the campaign to “defeat” pro-choice Republicans.
Already, predominantly democratic US states, including New York, New Jersey, and California, have enacted protective legal measures to protect abortion rights. Meanwhile, thirteen Republican-run states, including Texas and Utah, enacted ‘trigger laws’ before the Supreme Court’s announcement, which immediately outlawed abortion upon the ruling. And roughly half of America’s states are estimated to outlaw the procedure in the future. For now, it remains within country-wide law to travel outside your home state to receive an abortion. But it has been suggested that this could result in prosecution upon return.
The left-right divide continues to characterise much of the conflict and unease in America. Besides abortion rights, police brutality and gun control have become inseparable from their party associations. What resounds is a bitter and deeply entrenched ‘us versus them’ mentality and a grim-looking future.
Words by Eleanor Burleigh