ROE v. WADE: MY BODY, MY CHOICE!
(FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT) (5m read)
The Supreme Court's "egregious" decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
A LIL BIT OF BACKGROUND INFO
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a pregnant woman had the right to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. The decision struck down many U.S. federal and state abortion laws. Nearly half a century later (May 3, 2022) a Supreme court draft regarding Roe v. Wade was released to the public. Authored by Justice Samuel Alito, Jr., a 72-year-old male, the draft is aiming to overturn one of the most momentous court cases in history. In the initial draft, Alito stated that legalizing abortion was “…egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.” Mr. Alito’s ‘passe’ views on women's rights illustrates the consequences of egregiously mishandling power to impede upon the rights of others. Sign this petition to exercise and uphold the constitutional rights of free speech and privacy!
The liberty to make private health choices is a CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT of the American Woman. Abortion is a CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT of the American Woman. It is protected under the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
**Most notably the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. (We’ll get to these in a minute)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------WHAT’S GOING ON RIGHT NOW
In recent months, there has been a tidal wave of attacks on women's rights across the United States. Most notably, southern states like Mississippi and Texas have already taken a staunch stand in controlling women and putting us at risk by creating laws that limit or remove access of abortions and safe Planned Parenthood clinics, most notably in areas that predominantly serve ethnic minorities and citizens with limited economic means. According to the Centers of Disease Control, ethnic minorities such as Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. A prime example of this abuse of power is the Texas Heartbeat Act, which states abortion is illegal once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. That could be as soon as 6 weeks. The National Library of Medicine states that, “Among all pregnancies reported… pregnancy awareness was [on average] 5.5 weeks.” These coordinated acts are designed to prevent women from effectively making their own choices about their own bodies.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------THE PROTECTIONS OF THE FIFTH AMENDMENT
The Fifth Amendment states clearly that, “No person shall be… deprived of life, liberty, or property without due justice of the law.” In order to really comprehend the rights that are in jeopardy, we will have to provide some clarity on a few terms here. For starters, a person. According to Merriam Webster, a person can be regarded as a “human who is an individual.” Individuality literally means, “single; separate.” Healthline, an American website and provider of health information, states that, “In human pregnancies, a baby-to-be isn’t considered a fetus [human baby] until the 9th week after conception, or week 11 after your last menstrual period (LMP).” This can also be supported by the National Library of Medicine, which states, “ ..the physical appearance of a fetus resembles the mature human form at about week 9 of gestation…” To put it briefly: A baby isn’t a complete human “baby” until about 9 weeks after fertilization. Until then, it is generally a clump of embryonic cells that are unable to survive outside of its vessel, the mother. The person in this situation isn’t the microscopic cells developing inside of the body, it’s the living breathing human facilitating the life-to-be. The Woman. Denying any citizen the right to make private healthcare decisions regarding their own body is a clear case of depriving that individual’s liberty. Further, if that decision involves a medical issue that endangers the patient’s life, then the Fifth Amendment is even more obviously on the side of the patient, not the government.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------THE PROTECTIONS OF THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT
Limiting access to proper healthcare and restricting abortion care from women essentially abridges the freedom of choice and privacy. This specific term “abridged” is really important here because it's used in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Amendment states, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge [or diminish] the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. Nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” If the freedom of making important personal healthcare choices was taken from us- regardless of extenuating circumstances (such as major or potentially fatal health concerns, rape, incest, and sexual trafficking) illegalizing abortion would make the woman 100% liable in these extreme, and unfortunately too common, situations. Denying women the right to the freedom of choice would also be a direct infringement on the Constitution. The consequences would be a detrimental blow to Women’s privacy rights. We would not be protected.
Choosing whether or not to hold and have a child is the sole choice of the vessel within whom the child was created. The woman. By eliminating the essential access to abortions, the choice of the woman is essentially eliminated. Small, linear views cannot grasp the full scope of reality. Laws should be made and kept universally inclusive to ensure fairness and protection among all its citizens. It is a choice to support abortion, and it is a choice to not support it. As the old saying goes, mind the business that minds you. With all the foundational support and evidence stacked up, the restrictions on abortion was never about human rights, it was about controlling women.
Read for yourself! - RESOURCES:
The Constitution of the United States
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/70-18
Read Justice Alito's initial draft abortion opinion which would overturn Roe v. Wade - POLITICO
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/p0905-racial-ethnic-disparities-pregnancy-deaths.html
Trends in Timing of Pregnancy Awareness Among US Women - PMC (nih.gov)
Personhood status of the human zygote, embryo, fetus - PMC (nih.gov)
Embryo vs. Fetus: What’s the Difference? (healthline.com)
Person Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
individual_1 noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com
