We must fight to protect Roe v. Wade
On May 3, a leaked initial draft majority opinion of the Supreme Court voted to strike down Roe v. Wade, a historic decision providing federal access to safe abortions. If the ruling is made official, the right to abortion will be left up to each state, several of which already have triggered laws in place to ban or severely limit abortion access for people with uteruses. To remain silent and quietly accept the overturn of Roe v. Wade is to destroy years of progress and permanently cripple the American freedom principle to bodily autonomy.
Around two-thirds of the United States do not support the overturn of Roe v. Wade, according to a recent NPS/PBS poll. The extent to which the repeal of Roe v. Wade will damage all Americans is expansive: forced birthing of unconsenting people with uteruses, overcrowding of adoption centers, the infringement of the American government unto the freedom of their people, this list goes on. Nevertheless, 50 years of pro-life community organizing have succeeded in systematically deconstructing the hard-won fight for equal abortion in the United States at both the state and federal level.
Abolishing Roe v. Wade will not succeed in banning abortion, nor will it decrease the pursuit of abortion in the United States. This decision will, however, eradicate access to safe abortions for all people with uteruses, especially those who are marginalized and impoverished. For pro-life organizers, this will not be the end; Justice Alito’s draft opinion is the first step of many which will open the door to decrease all once-settled civil rights protections, such as gay marriage, provision of contraceptives and even school desegragation.
Roe v. Wade must stand. To let this unrepresentative, dangerous and decisive decision pass through SCOTUS quietly is to destroy the very crux of what it means to be American.
It is vital that now, more than ever, that we take to the streets. Though protests may not force immediate change, it is protests that led to this overturn. Protests will facilitate meaningful political dialogue, bring about efforts of true accountability and make the first step towards translating American outrage into legislative action.
