In light of the recent elections, many have begun to wonder what might happen if Roe v. Wade would be overturned. The result would be a reversal of the progress made by allowing women's rights to control issues of their reproductive rights and bodies and create a society that is biased and dangerous for women who seek abortions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Roe v. Wade was the challenge to an 1857 Texas statue that criminalized abortions at all stages unless the mother's life was in danger. In January 1973 the United States Supreme Court ruled that, under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, a woman has the right to privacy to make her own medical choices, including whether to have an abortion, but that the decision must be balanced with the interests of the State to protect maternal health and potential life. This ruling was significant because it was based on the right to privacy and not the equal protection clause. This distinction in legal reasoning has created a right to privacy not specifically articulated in the 14th Amendment, and has resulted in numerous challenges and a somewhat weakened foundation for a woman's right to have an abortion because this right to privacy is not recognized as an individual liberty. If Roe v. If Wade were overturned, there would no longer be any federal constitutional protection of a woman's right to abortion and jurisdiction over abortion would once again be subject to the laws of each individual state. Some states already have abortion laws on the books, legislated both before and after Roe as a measure to encourage the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling, or legislated in defiance of Roe. According to the National Association to Repeal Abortion Laws (NARAL), 13 states have near-total criminal bans on abortion that are unconstitutional and unenforceable, and four states have “trigger” bans, or laws that would take effect if the Supreme Court would reverse the situation. Roe v. Wade, which would impose a near-total criminal ban on abortion.[1] If the authority to determine the legality of abortions reverted to each state, the result would be a mishmash of laws, which in the apparent majority of states would severely or completely limit a woman's right to choose. In the current political climate in America it appears that women seeking abortions in a likely majority of states will be completely denied access, while in some states a woman's right to choose will continue to be protected. Variation in access and different levels of protection would mean that a woman's ability to access safe and legal abortions would be determined by where she lives. As a result, those who would suffer in states that deny the right to choose will largely be poor women. Women of low economic status in states that ban abortion would suffer disproportionate consequences because they would need to travel to another state where abortion remains legal. Therefore, in addition to the expenses needed to pay for the abortion service, additional finances would be needed to pay for travel and accommodation. For some, this may result in the need to undergo the procedure later in the pregnancy, when there is more risk of health complications. This is an additional disadvantage that low-income women would face if Roe v. Wade was overturned. In the year preceding the Roe v. Wade, “just over 100,000 women left their state to obtain a legal abortion in New York City.”[2] These women representeda small percentage able to afford abortion. Interestingly, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, “…it is the states with the poorest populations that are most aggressively trying to make abortion illegal. …Notably, these states also include large populations of color, creating a reality in which poor women of color will have greater difficulty obtaining an abortion in a post-Roe world.”[3]Women of color have historically been the group of women more oppressed when it comes to reproductive rights. “Estimates of the number of illegal abortions in the 1950s and 1960s ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year.”[4] Between 1951 and 1962, the maternal mortality rate for white women doubled compared to decades earlier, and the rate for black women quadrupled. This was reflected in maternal mortality rates which showed 14% of maternal mortality was due to abortion-related complications in 1928, rising to 42% by the early 1960s. In 1977, the Committee for the Right to Abortion and Against Sterilization Abuse was formed in hopes of combating the problems faced by marginalized women. They were aware that issues related to female reproduction did not affect all women equally, particularly regarding culture, social status and economics. If Roe v. Should Wade be overturned, these issues of racial and economic inequality would be highlighted in the fight for reproductive justice for all women. Wealth inequality will lead to poor women, particularly women of color, being forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term or resort to illegal and often unsafe means to obtain abortions. Throughout history, it can be observed that banning abortions does not mean women will still not get them. One of the advantages of Roe v. Wade was the overall decline in the maternal mortality rate; in New York the rate dropped 45% the year after legalization. Overturning Roe v. Wade, the maternal mortality rate would increase dramatically as women would seek illegal abortions. An underground service like Jane is likely to re-emerge to meet women's need for abortions. Jane, officially known as the Abortion Counseling Service of Women's Liberation, was an underground service in Chicago that performed abortions and connected women with abortionists. It has helped many women get abortions and has provided between 11,000 and 12,000 women in Illinois without any deaths. While this is the ideal scenario for clandestine abortion clinics, the reality is that there is no guarantee that successful clandestine abortion providers can exist even in fundamentalist states that outlaw abortion. Even if underground facilities were created, law enforcement risk and security issues pose serious unknown challenges. It is more likely that not all clandestine practices are as effective and that maternal mortality rates would increase due to lack of regulation. If Roe v. Should Wade be overturned, a group like Jane would be important in helping many women who have no other means to abort safely terminate their pregnancies. Due to the current widespread use of technology, one platform that a group like Jane could utilize would be the Internet. Even if abortion were banned in some states, the Internet could allow a large audience of women to obtain information on how and where to terminate their pregnancies. Ease of access to information on the Internet would be critical for many as information would be relatively unattainable elsewhere. The biggest problem with overturning Roe v. Wade would be a reversal of.
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