Words by Natasha Hemraze
One year on from the historic overturning of one of America’s most important pieces of legislation, we look at the aftermath and effect that the terrifying fall of Roe v Wade has had on American women.
When the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in late June 2022, a portentous piece of legislation that had made it legal for women to access abortion healthcare since 1973 found itself ever so painfully made defunct. A year on, things are still just as bleak.
Across the US, abortion healthcare is far and few between, with abortion banned in at least 15 states, and some states even banning any abortions performed after a short 6 weeks, which is often before many women even realise they are pregnant.
There are a few states that have established extenuating circumstances for abortions, yet these rulings are still vague. There is a lack of specificity and protection for those who need it most. Women who end up carrying foetuses with birth defects or those who experience difficult pregnancies remain vulnerable to these lawmakers and their ignorance.
Of course, some abortions have been permitted on the grounds of rape and incest, or if the patient’s life is at risk. However, getting the go-ahead can be brutal. Take for instance, the state of Mississippi which requires proof of assault in return for a doctor’s note sanctioning the abortion: an archaic procedure. The process is made all the more tragic when you take into consideration that two thirds of victims do not report their sexual assaults to law enforcement out of fear of their abuser’s retaliation or the law enforcers simply not believing their story.
It’s not only the law jeopardising abortion services, but doctors too with some averse to providing abortion services, terrified of facing charges for performing abortion as well as losing their licences and reputation.
Dr Caitlin Bernard , an obstetrician gynecologist was recently on trial for violating patient privacy about an abortion she performed on a ten-year-old rape victim in July last year. At six weeks pregnant, the unnamed girl crossed state lines from Ohio to Indiana to seek an abortion. Dr Bernard discussed the case with a reporter before subsequently receiving a letter of reprimand from the Indiana Medical Board and a $3,000 fine. She continues to advocate for reproductive healthcare and states that healthcare providers, “should not have to live in fear of punishment for providing care that helps people”.
Abortion patients have found themselves so severely desperate to cross state lines to seek healthcare, but many abortion clinics across the US have halted their services or shut down entirely. There has also been an increase in violence against abortion providers, but this hasn’t stopped thousands of volunteers helping abortion seekers to state borders despite the recent talk of punishment for those crossing states for healthcare. The Biden Administration has been trying to implement protection plans for people who seek abortions, preventing their information from being used to investigate or sue those who obtained or facilitated abortions.
The reversal of Roe v Wade not only impacted women’s reproductive rights, but also brought into question the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, with many LGBTQ+ Americans having “relied on the rights that Roe protected”. Lately, there has been a rise in anti-transgender bills in the United States that have restricted medical care for transgender people, restricted bathroom use, and even attacked the use of preferred-pronouns. Other attacks on rights include judges seeking a ban on gender transition care for minors, and a restriction on changing sex on birth certificates and driver’s licences. It seems that the fall of Roe v Wade welcomed a whole new wave of regression in politics.
It can be easy to get caught in the political impact of Roe v Wade being overturned, but this is very much a physical issue too. Since it’s overturn, thousands of women have suffered treacherously with the loss of their constitutional right to abortion. Their bodies have been forced to endure traumas like rape, incest, early births, ectopic pregnancies, msicarriages, and complicated pregnancies.
The United States and their conservative lawmakers have made themselves blind to the torture that women have had to endure. Women have had to tolerate the worst and will continue to live in fear within a country that does not recognise their right to be protected and treated humanely.
The United States’ conservative lawmakers are turning a blind eye to the suffering that millions of women are enduring now and, regrettably, for the foreseeable future. Change is needed, change that recognises that women should not have to fear for their rights, and change that sees the US end this regression and protect not just its citizens’ rights, but their bodies too.