One year after Roe v. Wade reversal, things are bleak

THE ALESTLE STAFF editorial board

MERRETT Program Director ANGIE TROUT Offi ce Manager

HAVE A COMMENT?

Let us know! opinion@alestlelive.com

Campus Box 1167 Edwardsville, IL. 62026-1167

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY:

The editors, staff and publishers of The Alestle believe in the free exchange of ideas, concerns and opinions and will publish as many letters as possible.

Letters may be submitted at The Alestle office: Morris University Center, Room 0311 e-mail: opinion@alestlelive.com

All hard copy letters should be typed and double-spaced. Letters should be no longer than 500 words. Include phone number, signature, class rank and major.

We reserve the right to edit letter for grammar and content. Care will be taken to ensure that the letter’s message is not lost or altered.

Letters to the editor will not be printed anonymously except under extreme circumstances. We reserve the right to reject letters.

Despite public opinion leaning toward abortion rights for all, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade one year ago which protected the right to abortion. Since then, people have had to travel thousands of miles and spend more money than they can afford to get the care they need. Others have had no choice but to suffer.

Roe v. Wade was a 7-2 decision making abortion completely legal throughout the first trimester, allowing loose state regulations throughout the second trimester and heavier state regulations or complete prohibition in the third trimester.

Dobbs v. Jackson, the case that overturned the previous decision on abortion, now allows states to regulate and enact outright bans on abortion throughout an entire pregnancy. This action also presents a danger in other cases decided on the same precedent as Roe v. Wade.

In the concurring opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, he says all cases protected by due process – the same principle Roe v. Wade was decided on – should be looked at again. Laws that govern rights regarding same-sex marriage, contraceptives and sodomy would all fall under scrutiny. The only case Thomas left out was Loving v. Virginia, which protects interracial marriage. Thomas himself is in an interracial marriage.

Now, a year after that decision, 14 primarily southern states have banned abortion completely. In addition to the 14 with complete bans, one state has a sixweek ban and five have a 12-20week ban.

For many people in the south, the closest access to abortion services is in Carbondale, while many others are flocking to Fairview Heights.

The people most affected by the decision are poor people and people of color.

According to a study published by the American Psychological Association, “More than 60 percent of those who seek abortions are people of color and about half live below the federal poverty line.”

Many people already have nightmare stories about their inability to access safe and healthy abortions.

Stories about parents carrying fetuses with fatal prognoses unable to stop their suffering, a 10-year-old child having to cross state lines to receive care after she had been raped and many more stories of women almost dying before getting abortions for their nonviable pregnancies.

The problem with many of these laws and bans is that it goes against the majority public opinion. According to a poll done by the Pew Research Center, 60 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in almost all situations.

The only way to ensure that we continue to have the human right to abortion is to vote and participate in politics. Call your local representative and your state representatives and let them know your stance. Encourage them to introduce legislation to protect abortion or encourage them to get the issue put on the ballot.

Most importantly though, vote for the people who protect these rights.

If you have time, volunteer at local pro-choice groups that provide assistance to those in need.

The only way we can help our fellow people out is by letting our government know we want our human rights protected.

Doom-scrolling detrimental to your health, must be reigned in

BRUCE DARNELL managing editor

The endless cycle of tuning into awful things has been amplified in recent years through social media sites like Twitter. Breaking out of this cycle is important to your health, and a tangible goal if you set your mind to it.

Doom-scrolling has been a common pastime of mine. I enjoy reading bad news and ideas. Though, “enjoyment” may not be the correct word to use; I have a sick fascination with seeing what awful people have to say.

To seek out the loudest pundits, I usually go to Twitter. On there, I can find anything I want that will sink me deeper and deeper into the giant melting pot of dismay.

Here, I find “freethinkers” who believe it was the woke mob that caused the recent submarine fiasco, or I find “scholars” who believe the 81-year-old Unabomber’s death in prison was conspired — similar to the reaction to the death of Jeffrey Epstein.

Reading this hate speech is one of my favorite activities, as it tends to be the most insidious while also being the least intelligent.

But beyond the skim of Twitter conservatism lies the best place to bring misery to myself. By going through profile to profile (equivalent to chasing the White Rabbit), I find myself in the real dredges of regressive thinking.

You can find anything on Twitter if you look hard enough, and I’ve found my fair share of people posting monstrous things: monarchists, fascists and 13-yearolds alike. This is where I see the real hate that turns the gears in my brain, which remain dormant until I pursue the previously mentioned sick fascinations.

It’s not necessary to say all that I’ve seen from these accounts. Just know that much of it is etched in my head and consists of a lack of basic human dignity or any developed morals.

While I have my own experiences with doom-scrolling, others have different ones. Some people may watch circuit news constantly or scroll through endless threads about climate change and brutal conflict in foreign nations.

However, there’s a common thread behind it all.

Doom-scrolling, in essence, is an addiction-like pursuit of things that make us feel bad. It can consume you if you’re not careful and will slowly tear away at you until you’re stuck online reposting and replying to all the awful things you see (which is sort of a subset of the chronically online crowd.)

But with any addiction, there’s only one solution: quit- ting. No matter what you do, you cannot escape the negativity that is proliferated online; if you stay online too often, you will always run the risk of falling into the doom-scrolling cycle.

Unfortunately for any Luddites and other technophobes, it is impossible to escape the internet. And so, to avoid the vicious cycle, you must catch yourself at every moment and stop doing it. Do not go down the rabbit hole, do not reply to the rabble-rousers and always be aware of your online habits.

Another solution is to only use social media whenever required. This could mean for work, communication or whatever else that fits within necessity.

While social media is fun, using it for entertainment can easily push you into doom-scrolling, which will inevitably harm you in the long run. Do the right thing and take a break!