A sad day for the Court & country

On June 24th, 2022, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v Jackson [Women’s Health Organization (JWHO)]. The court upheld Mississippi’s ban on abortion at 15 weeks into pregnancy, overturned Roe V. Wade, and ended the federal constitutional right to abortion in the US at 5 votes to 4.

What was Roe. V Wade?

The historical Supreme Court case of Roe. V Wade, ruling on January 22nd, 1973, decriminalised abortion nationwide, giving women in every US state the ability to have an abortion:

“[T]he ‘liberty’ protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment covers more than those freedoms explicitly named in the Bill of Rights… Several decisions of this Court make clear that freedom of personal choice in matters of marriage and family life is one of the liberties protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment… That right [to be free from unwarranted governmental intrusion] necessarily includes the right of a woman to decide whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”

Concurring Opinion in Roe v. Wade, by Justice Potter Stewart (Jan. 22nd, 1973)

Most importantly, the Roe v. Wade case- for half a century- became a landmark case. One which brought hope to women, not only in the US, but in other countries around the world, that society might become more tolerable for them. This is now not the case.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, President Joe Biden remarked: “It is a sad day for the Court, and for the Country”, and “Now that Roe is gone. Let’s be very clear: the health, and life, of women in this nation is now at risk”. And indeed, evidence suggests that Biden is correct. Nearly 1 in 4 women in America will have an abortion by age 45 according to the Guttmacher Institute. A banning of clinical abortions will only result in an increase in illegal, unsafe abortions- also known as ‘backstreet abortions’. Thus placing “The health and life of women in [the US] at risk.” According to the Guttmacher Institute, the abortion rates in countries in which it is criminalised are similar to those of countries wherein abortion is legal. In parts of the world where abortion is illegal, botched abortions still cause about 8-11 percent of all maternal deaths, or about 30,000 each year (Guttmacher, 2017).

For those in support of criminalising abortion, the Christian concept of the Sanctity of Life is often utilised to explain why abortion should be illegal, arguing that all life is sacred. However, abortions will still be carried out once States declare their anti-abortion laws; in some cases, these will both terminate the pregnancy, and kill the mother. Therefore, any Sanctity of Life argument is rendered ineffective and unconvincing. Abortion clinics, like Planned Parenthood, exist to allow women to safely carry out abortions; and thus, it was considered a type of healthcare. Now instead, abortions will have to be orchestrated out of state- this fact showcases that the Dobbs V Jackson ruling has the greatest negative impact upon the poorest in society, which also happens to be African Americans. (In 2021, 19.5% of African Americans lived below the poverty line, compared to 8.2% of white Americans- according to Statistica. These women will be unable to travel out of state or out of the country in order to get their treatment.

The iconic Gloria Steinem- an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognised leader of second-wave feminism- was interviewed about the new Supreme Court ruling in a BBC interview: “If we do not have decision-making power over our own physical selves, there’s no democracy.” And it is this lack of democracy in the US demonstrated in the Dobbs V. Jackson court case which begs the question: what’s next? A Gallup poll, published prior to the court’s final decision, showed that 80% of Americans do not support the banning of abortion, and yet 5 out of the 4 justices voted to criminalise it. Clearly today’s predominantly conservative US Supreme Court does not care for public opinion and is not democratically representative. Their willingness to overrule the best known, most politically contested Supreme Court decision suggests that they will not hesitate to reconsider other important cases. Many are beginning to fear for the safety of LGBTQ+ rights, for example, given both Justice Alito, and Justice Thomas’ expressed views against same sex marriage. Dobbs V. Jackson has demonstrated a total disregard for public opinion and has also demonstrated a certain brutality and negligence of the Court towards the rights of American people who can so very easily become, once again, marginalised.

On paper the Dobbs v Jackson Supreme Court case is a criminalisation of abortions after 15 weeks. In reality, the overturning of Roe v Wade is symbolic and indicative of a changing culture in the US. Abortion rights, which previously seemed to be protected, have been called into question, and consequently destroyed. And with a predominantly conservative Court many have no doubt that other rights will now also be questioned. Democracy is failing. And the fundamental rights of women in the US are being stripped before the world’s very eyes.