My Body, But Not My Choice?

By Drew Siegel

Whether abortions should be legal or not has been a debate that has gone far back in time. Roe V. Wade, the Supreme Court case that maintained the legality of abortions in their 1992 decision, has been a controversial decision for quite some time, and just recently, the Supreme Court has decided to overturn these rights.

Over the past decade, several states across the United States have limited abortion rights to varying degrees in order to decrease the number of abortions occurring. One state, in particular, Texas, decided on September 1, 2021, that abortions are illegal once a fetal heartbeat is detectable. This could very likely be as early as six weeks into the pregnancy, and in many cases, women are unaware of their pregnancy up until this point.

In an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, he stated “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” and he also added, “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.

About a million women have abortions yearly and without the ability to go into a clinic and receive the procedure sterilely and safely, these women will turn to other options. In Texas, women are often forced to either conduct the procedure on their own, go to another state or Mexico, or even go to places that are not authorized to perform abortions. The overturning of Roe V. Wade will result in many more unsafe abortion procedures being conducted, which can result in the death of the mother in some cases. This decision will only limit the number of legal abortions being conducted; abortions will continue to take place regardless, except the way in which they will be conducted could harm thousands of women.

Women are expressing their anger at this decision as there have been protests throughout the nation, as many believe that the ending of Roe V. Wade is just the beginning. Girls Global Health will be working with the National Network of Abortion Funds in order to stand up for what is right for women across the world.