The overturned result of Roe V Wade
By Joyce Lee
December 13, 2022
UPDATED 12:00 PM EST
[Photo Credit: Crosscut]
The problem dealing with women’s abortion has been around us for centuries. Recently, the determination of Roe V Wade has shaken the whole country, taking a great influence. The court case started with an unmarried pregnant woman, Jane Roe, pursuing her rights for abortion against the Texas law that forbids abortion unless there is a significant danger to the mother’s health. Texas claimed its right to maintain the law for mainly two reasons; first, the state cares about the safety and prenatal life regarding the maintenance of medical standards; and second, a fetus, which is an unborn baby, is considered to be an individual who carries the right to be protected by the 14th amendment. while Texas is protective about the prenatal life of the mother and the baby, Jane Roe believed that an individual should carry the complete decision of their own body, deciding whether to keep the baby. Roe’s side took arguments regarding how the law of Texas against abortion has intruded on keeping one’s liberty regarding the 14th Amendment.
The long journey from 1973 to 2022 ended this June with the overturned result. This result immediately impacted the states, now 13 states being illegal to abort the baby. States such as Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia have no exceptions, even with extreme circumstances like rape. Some other states have restrictions, but it is possible under certain special circumstances. Because of each state's different conditions, people who need abortion travel to another state that allows abortion to get the procedure. This result is not only a meaning of taking away one’s free will to make decisions on their body but an intensified problem related to mental health, physical health, public stigma, or even escalation of illegal abortions because of the restriction of the legalized procedure. Many public figures showed sadness for the overturned result, and many people also expressed their anger and sorrow through public action or social media. Likewise, we can spot how this overturned result of Roe V Wade has affected the country remarkably, yet the situation is caught in a labyrinth that will need some time to solve.
References
The New York Times. “Tracking the States Where Abortion Is Now Banned.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 May 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html.
“Roe v. Wade Case Summary: What You Need To Know.” Findlaw, https://supreme.findlaw.com/supreme-court-insights/roe-v--wade-case-summary--what-you-need-to-know.html.
Vogue, Ariane de, et al. “Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade | CNN Politics.” CNN, Cable News Network, 24 June 2022, https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/24/politics/dobbs-mississippi-supreme-court-abortion-roe-wade/index.html.