the international translation of roe v. wade

from Overachiever Magazine: MARCH I ISSUE

it starts with teeth

BY SHREYA RAJAPPA @SHREYARAJAPPA

A high school student living in sunny California, Shreya Rajappa enjoys writing creative non-fiction and impassioned Op-Ed articles. She credits her intersectional identity as a bisexual, feminist young woman with Indian and Sri Lankan parents for her desire to become involved in journalism to represent others who share aspects of her identity and to bring awareness to social issues involving marginalized communities. In her free time, she watches movies, takes pictures, tie-dyes clothes, and plays basketball.

ON January 22, 1973, Norma McCorvey’s lawyer stood on the U.S. Supreme Court floor to fight for her bodily autonomy, her right to an abortion. Norma McCorvey, then known as Jane Roe, won that case, prohibiting states from restricting abortion before the end of the first trimester of pregnancy. A landmark decision making Roe v. Wade a case frequently cited on the news and known to many Americans, the legalization of abortion improved women’s health, preventing women from needing to seek out illegal, unsafe backstreet abortions or dangerously using hangars and other objects to abort their fetuses themselves at home, and furthering the modern women’s rights movement. Women in America now had decision-making power over their own bodies and lives, a power they should have had from the beginning. The good news is that America isn’t the only country finally giving women the right to choose. While occurring years and decades later, there have been abortion rights movements in other continents— and they’re gaining speed.

After 12 hours of nail-biting and knee-bouncing on December 30, 2020, abortion was legalized in Argentina. The bill passed with a Senate vote of 38 for and 28 against. The bill’s passage demonstrates the unrelenting commitment of Argentina’s pro-choice senators to their values since, prior to their vote, they were forced to witness their opponents decked out in baby blue with a massive fetus doll doused in fake blood in front of Congress. With strong support from the conservative nation’s progressive president, Alberto Fernández, the bill permits abortion for any reason up to 14 weeks of pregnancy and in the cases of rape or health issues afterward. Even though the senators stepped up to the plate to deliver the positive change Latin American women needed, the real credit goes to Argentina’s feminist and abortion-rights movement recognized by its green handkerchiefs, symbolizing solidarity with the movement. Just as these green handkerchiefs have popped up on the bodies of people in other Latin American countries like Mexico, here’s hoping that Argentina’s new abortion law will spread to further the protection and rights of women in South America.

Inspired by Argentine legalizing abortion after a 15-yearlong battle, Polish activists continue to build up a massive protest movement in post-communist Poland to repeal Poland’s almost-complete ban on abortion. Even though Poland ruled in October 2020 that even abortions of fetuses with congenital defects or those that are predicted to die upon birth or shortly after were illegal, Poland’s prochoice activists are demanding the legalization of abortion for any reason up until the 12th week of pregnancy and the financial contribution of the national health system to fund the medical procedures.

On February 3, 2021, the activists proposed their plan to legalize abortion at a press conference right outside of Parliament, but it needs to gain 100,000 signatures from Polish citizens to reach the assembly floor. This protest is Poland’s fifth try at legalizing abortion since a 1993 law restricting abortions only allowed in cases of rape, incest, medical danger, or fetal defects. Now, even if the fetal defect is fatal, abortion is prohibited because of the October court’s decision. While the Polish activists have acknowledged that real change is impossible with the country’s current conservative stronghold on the assembly, they hope to reignite the fight for abortion rights in Poland so that later on, when they have more of a chance, they will have the foundation they need to finally peel back these discriminatory laws.

61,000 people had signed the petition to legalize abortion in Namibia, Africa by November 27, 2020. The current abortion law at that time prohibited abortions for women unless there had been rape, incest, or other danger threatening the woman, girl, or unborn child. However, Namibia’s feminist movement knew that women deserve better and fought for their bodily autonomy and agency. They knew that pregnancy itself was a danger to women with 810 women dying per day in 2017 because of avoidable reasons associated with pregnancy and childbirth, so they advocated for women’s right to decide for themselves if they wanted to go through with those risks. On July 18, 2020, their petition turned into protests with hundreds of Namibian pro-choice supporters demanding the abortion law be reformed to give anyone 10 years and older access to abortion for any reason, comprehensive reproductive healthcare improvements for Namibian women, and improved sexual health education as wells as virtual protests under the hashtag #LegalizeAbortionNA. If Namibia wins their fight for more progressive abortion rights, they will join other African countries like Mozambique and Ethiopia with laws that allow girls under and over 18 to receive abortions for pregnancies up until 16 weeks. South Africa, an example for the rest, gives women of any age access to abortions for no reason up until the fetus is 13 weeks old.

In Thailand, the Parliament legalized abortions at the end of January 2021 of pregnancies resulting from sexual assault or in harm to the mother’s or fetus’s health in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy with a Senate vote of 166 to 7 to repeal and replace the previous law that had penalized those acquiring abortions with up to three years in prison and those providing abortions with up to five years in prison. However, pro-choice activists and supporters in Thailand say that this isn’t enough. Instead, they are concerned about the penalties still in place for those in Thailand who get abortions after 12 weeks: fines and jail time of up to six months in prison. The main reason for these activists’ discontent with the new law is that there were no women with experience with abortions or abortion-rights activists included in the deliberation process. Thus, the law was made without consideration of all of the other reasons why a woman might need an abortion and of the time it takes for a woman to learn of her pregnancy and then to learn of any health issues that may stem from the pregnancy. Some prochoice supporters in Thailand are worried that backstreet abortions will continue even with this law, posing great danger to those who want abortions after 12 weeks or for other reasons not allowed by the new law. These activists have also taken to the streets, protesting in major cities like Bangkok.

In September 2019, abortion was legalized in almost all of Australia after New South Wales, the continent’s state with the highest population density, repealed a 119-year-old ban on abortion and made legal abortion accessible for up until 22 weeks of pregnancy. The 119-year-old ban had penalized abortion with up until 10 years in prison if the woman hadn’t received confirmation from her doctor that her health was in jeopardy as a result of the pregnancy. After the repeal of this law and replacement with a much better one, women in Australia can now terminate their pregnancy up until 22 weeks without a physical or mental health reason. This improvement in legislation is a result from the abortion-rights protests in June 2019, like one in Sydney, demonstrating how the abortion-rights movement in Australia is steadily become a movement with 0 losses. Now, all that’s left before abortion is legal in all of Australia is for South Australia to follow suit.

Even with such big wins for countries in each continent concerning abortion rights, there are still countries in the world, like Malta with the most restrictive ban on abortion in the EU and little hope for a reversal of this ban, with women who aren’t as lucky to be given governance over their own body, unobstructed rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s time that abortion-rights grow into movements spanning each continent from top to bottom, left to right. It’s time that women everywhere finally feel in charge of their own existence on Earth.

OM.

my bed, written by Divya Chhotani

Author’s note:

spring is almost in full swing! the weather is getting bigger, the sun is shining brighter, serotonin levels are high, and it’s time for amazing festivities ahead. spring is also something that can signify the start of new beginnings, where things bloom without interruption, where you can let your imagination roam free. it’s when walking around in the breezy cold turns to stop every five minutes to admire your surroundings and the new flowers that bloom alongside the sidewalk. it’s also remembering that although times are tough, flowers still grow in the cracks and crevices of the sidewalk and are just as strong without support, it’s all strength from within. times have definitely been uncertain, it’s been a year since we had to wear masks, a year of just staying inside and dwelling on the past or having FOMO (fear of missing out). the one thing that’s been constant is that we’re doing this together. even if sometimes you feel alone, I assure you you aren’t at all. though times may be difficult, having some hope and faith can go a long way. this is a time to cultivate new relationships and friendships, time to take that step and do things you never imagined you could do. I believe in you so so much, regardless of how you feel about where you are, and if you feel at an all-time high or low, I love you and I care for you. you have so much to live for. thank you for pushing through this past year, you did that... nobody else did but you. congratulations on surviving one of the roughest times probably in our life.

you matter and you are loved.

Scan here to listen to the my bed playlist

my bed

my bed is something that remains constant, sitting in my room waiting for me to fall into it my bed holds me and keeps me safe in a home where I’m blinded by the noise my bed embraces me like an old friend who I haven’t seen in a while but we strike up a conversation we talk about my dreams and ambitions and how I fell from a tree in the second grade my tears staining pillowcase after pillowcase whenever I feel like the world is too much I know my bed will always be there for me it’s like mother nature, the one that I come from, It swallows me in and keeps me warm in the middle of the night

my bedrocks me to sleep like a baby who’s an insomniac, driving her parent’s crazy but my bed also has legs that uplift me and hold me up when my body feels weak and feeble it holds me like a coffin when I feel dead inside, holding my soulless body, my skeleton my bed is something that I can fall into when I’m feeling bored and want to rest my eyes and escape into my dream world it’s something that has a hold over me it’s like my grave where I just lay still except I’m breathing struggling to find answers between the sheets in between sips of wine drowning out my thoughts, intoxicated and free my bed is so fuzzy and is like my jungle of softness where I can discover myself every night I can stay afloat on my bed because my bed won’t swallow me whole and spit me into an environment I’m not prepared for on nights like these, where I cry and cry and think about where I went wrong with my AirPods in, I can escape into my world and drown it out with the sounds of others going through the same things I have, letting me know I’m not alone, telling me I’m here to stay I’m here to breathe and run around late at night to feel the wind on my face in the cold months of December and to fall in love a little more and more every day with the thoughts of you and i I’m here to go to gas stations and cross country and roam the four corners and go far and wide I’m here to stay, in my bed Thinking about where I went wrong in my past yet not realizing I’m right where I’m supposed to be turning my head to see not just a notification on my phone but a beautiful angel next to me lost in duvets and falling into hotel beds pillow talk and escapades I’m here on this earth to go far and wide with you by my side but for right now, my bed is collecting my thoughts in my pillow of dreams where I can dream big without anybody shooting my dreams down in my sea of dreams, I can swim and explore where I want to go and how I’m going to get there I’m on the right track and for now, my bed knows my pain and sorrow until I turn my head tomorrow and look at the sky and smile look at the flowers blossoming and say hi to what I have in store in the future or even tomorrow my pillowcase stained with past tears one day and flipping the pillow to get the colder side the next day turning my head to seeing you my happy place, my home

Female Gaze Each issue we feature some of our readers to highlight the diversity and stories o

Christy Ku

Christy Ku is a Hong Kong born, UK based poet, performer, facilitator and actor. She is an alumna of the

Barbican Young Poets, the Making Lemonade young creative leadership programme, National Youth Theatre and New Earth Academy. She is also a BBC Words First 2019 finalist and has headlined events across the country. Christy worked on various poetry commissions involving short films, spoken word tracks and theatre shows with organisations such as the BBC, Sour Lemons, Apples & Snakes and the Barbican. She is the founder of BESEA Poets, an online platform for British based East and SouthEast Asian poets. In addition to poetry, she is also a short story writer, podcast creator, and photographer. Christy is currently working towards her debut poetry collection and various other projects.

of Asian women and non-binary individuals around the world. Here are these issue’ s Overachievers!

Harini

Hi! I am Harini. (IG: deskidharti) I study Community and Population Health Sciences in Canada. In my program, I learned to examine systems of oppression, develop interventions that remove barriers for different marginalized groups of people to reduce health inequities. I feel strongly that any work that I am involved in must have an anti-oppressive lens, and an intersectional approach.

I wanted to share the things I learn and study, because they affect every single one of us. I also craved a creative outlet for myself, so I began writing about systemic oppression and health inequities on my Instagram at the beginning of the year. I also create digital art depicting South Asian women.