According to a leaked draft, proven authentic by Justice Alito, the Supreme Court is likely to overturn Roe v. Wade by OZinOH [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0].
By Rebecca Do
On May 2, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will probably vote to overturn the case “Roe v. Wade,” according to the majority opinion of a leaked draft. This case constitutionally protects people with female-presenting bodies’ right to an abortion, free of government restraint. It has not been officially overruled as of this time.
The case was first drafted in 1973 and, in a leaked majority opinion just shy of 50 years later, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ruled to overturn the case. “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives” he writes.
In 1970, Norma McCorvey (under the pseudonym Jane Roe) invited federal action against Dallas district attorney Henry Wade. She believed that a woman should be allowed the right to terminate their pregnancy at any time.
“Casey” is in reference to the 1992 Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey case. This case essentially upheld the previously passed Roe v. Wade decision and reaffirmed abortion rights in the nation.
Protests for and against the overturning of the case have been occurring throughout the country sporadically in cities, and have even spread to Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home. Protesters chanted “my body, my choice” relentlessly. Kavanaugh’s neighbors have been vocal in their outrage. Lacey Wooten-Holway, Kavanaugh’s neighbor and a survivor of assault, which the justice has been accused of in the past, was a primary protest organizer in the neighborhood.
The fight against reproductive rights has been ongoing for 73 years. However, even after the case was passed, there have been many anti-abortion sentiments in state governments and in the nation. Protests occur outside of abortion clinics to guilt-trip people into not undergoing this procedure—America is still not a safe place for female-presenting bodies.
We should not allow a group of select people to make choices concerning the extent of rights a woman should have to her own body. It is sickening. We cannot cry bloody murder in the name of unborn fetuses with no sense of bodily autonomy and have no remorse for the future of the mother.
“Pro-life” folk want to ban abortion—plain and simple. The problem with that is that abortion acts as healthcare for many people who aren’t ready, aren’t stable enough or simply don’t have the time to be mothers.
“You’re murdering a baby” is an argument that’s tried and true for “pro-life” people. So is “you can give it up for adoption.”
The problem with that is that you are compromising the health of a woman for the health of something which has no sense of personhood. That woman has lived a life, but that fetus has not.
A nation without abortion is a nation with an overcrowded foster care system. A nation without abortion is a nation with uncontrollable birth rates, increased poverty and nurture-oriented mental health issues.
This begs the question, “What can we do about this?”
You can look for local protests and demonstrations in your area. You can also donate to abortion funds (as opposed to Planned Parenthood; they get plenty of donations and don’t need anymore) in the nation by using the National Network of Abortion Funds.
But the most important thing someone of age can do is vote. Vote for representatives, governors and senators who uphold the anatomical rights stated in Roe v. Wade.
At the end of the day, overturning Roe is overturning reproductive rights as a whole. Fight for women and fight for their right to healthcare.
