On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court released a 5-3 decision overturning Roe V.
Wade, a historical case in favor of those carrying uteruses and their right to bodily autonomy. The decision evoked outrage from the record high 70% of Americans who are cited to support abortion rights in 2022, a re-enforcement that yet again, our government has failed us.
Though abortion is never explicitly mentioned in America’s Constitution, one of the oldest still in use today, at the time at which the document was written, abortion was widely considered “legal before quickening,” or the “time at which the woman could feel movement in her uterus,” equating to about 4-5 months of pregnancy. Following independence from Britain, no stature existed concerning abortion and though it was looked down upon by the church, the negative attitudes surrounding the procedure stemmed from an association of abortion with premarital sex, rather than the categorization of abortion as “murder.” And though some states, albeit very few, legally tried cases related to abortion, trials would predominantly be centered around physician malpractice as opposed to the act itself, the earliest example being in Connecticut, where a woman died after undergoing the procedure.
The first groundbreaking case concerning abortion arrived in 1812, when the Massachusetts Supreme Court tried Commonwealth v. Bangs, ruling that “abortion with the woman’s consent before quickening” was not punishable with common law, which remained the ruling precedent for the first half of the 19th century. A slew of legislature followed, with Connecticut ruling in 1821 that anyone who provided or took poison or other “noxious and destructive substance” with the intent to cause “the miscarriage of any woman, then being quick with child” could be punished by law. However, the ruling still preserved the woman’s common-law right to null pregnancy before “quickening”.
As the concept of abortion began to reach the “mainstream,” it became a topic of concern amongst those (predominantly men) who feared the incorporation of women into the “public sphere.” Thus, beginning upon its founding in 1847, the American Medical Association (AMA) began to label midwives and homeopaths, predominately women who usually assisted in abortions and birthing procedures, as “unscientific positions” to push women out of the medical sphere. The AMA, led by gynecologist Horatio Storer, continued to lobby to push midwives out of the medical sphere, infamously arguing that abortion was “immoral” and caused “derangement” because it interfered with the “laws of nature.”
Storer later branched off into his own movement, creating the Physicians Campaign Against Abortion, gathering physicians to argue that abortion was a crime against the medical profession and that limiting abortions was necessary to preserve the “future destiny of the nation,” a statement that is now often interpreted as rooted in the white-supremacist sentiment that white women ought to have more children to “preserve the white race.”
Storer’s movement saw its first fruits in 1873, when the Comstock Act was passed by the United States Congress, making it illegal to send “obscene” materials across state lines, including information on abortion or contraception, a ruling that was later famously overturned by Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965, which allowed married couples the right to contraceptives.
The Comstock Act was followed by the Pure Food and Drug act in 1906, which made it unlawful to make, sell, or transport “deleterious” drugs or medicines, making it increasingly difficult for people to access safer forms of abortion, beginning the rise of illegal abortions. By 1910, abortion was deemed illegal, except in cases to save the mother’s life, in every state except Kentucky, which banned it in any circumstance. Though these laws were extremely unevenly enforced, they had dire consequences for thousands.
Abortion bans came in a time in which the American family unit saw quite possibly its biggest challenge yet, with the proliferation of wage labor giving more people the opportunity to live in single households, no longer using the family as a unit of production. Thus, a mainstream argument for the banning of abortion was to encourage families to have more children to offset the rising (though not in any way substantial) number of single households. Abortion was also perceived as a step towards female independence in a time at which women were already beginning to step out of the boundaries of the home, volunteering more frequently. To confine women to the household, many looked toward controlling their reproductive rights.
Despite abortion bans, however, abortions in no way stopped. Some women were able to receive medical abortions by feigning psychosis to at least two psychiatrists to be referred to a physician who would then perform the procedure. However, this process cost upwards of 5,000 modern US dollars (around $600 then), making it extremely difficult for many to afford, especially amid a male-dominated labor force. Thus, doctors and nurses began to set up underground abortion clinics, renting out large homes and employing staff to assist with the procedures. One of the most famous doctors, Dr. G. Lottrell Timanus, was said to have performed over 5,000 abortions. And though many feared the safety of the procedures, underground abortion clinics often made sure to take every precaution necessary to ensure the safety of the procedure, because if clients were to get hurt, the clinics would face serious repercussions. Underground clinics brought in thousands upon thousands of dollars and thousands upon thousands of clients and many who performed abortions were arrested to serve a relatively substantial amount of jail time.
Unfortunately, many still were not lucky enough to access these underground abortion clinics, which still cost a hefty fee of around $2,500 modern US dollars. Thus, in the 1930s, many estimated that about 5,000 people died per year from unsafe abortions. And though that number rapidly declined over time as contraceptives and new medical technology became more widely available, the painful deaths of the hundreds in the years to follow must never be forgotten either.
In 1973, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of an anonymous woman, referred to as “Jane Roe,” who filed a lawsuit against a Texas district attorney, Henry Wade. Roe argued that Texas laws, which allowed abortion only in cases in which the procedure would “save the mother’s life,” were too vague and breached her right to privacy protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Roe was later joined in her suit by a Texas doctor, who argued that state requirements for abortion were too vague for doctors to practice under. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jane Roe, deciding that the Constitution of the United States generally protects peoples’ right to get an abortion. After Roe v. Wade, three cases more concerning abortion rights were brought to the SCOTUS. Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992 created a standard for abortion based on “fetal viability,” i.e. the fetus’s ability to survive outside of the womb, and both Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt and June Medical Services v. Gee resulted in rulings that states (Texas and Louisiana, respectively) could not place restrictions on abortion clinics to the detriment of those seeking them or require doctors to have “admitting privileges” to perform the procedure. Thus, the overturning of Roe v. Wade comes as a sharp contrast to previous SCOTUS rulings concerning abortion, which have always leaned liberal.
The reversal of Roe v. Wade is in no way an abrupt disruption to the course of contemporary American politics, which has been slowly sliding towards the right for over a decade. Rather, it is a substantial indication that America’s government has become incredibly far removed from its duty to protect the safety and wellbeing of its citizens. With the recent Supreme Court limitations on New York’s concealed carry laws and the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate greenhouse gas production, it has become evident that a small minority of extreme conservatives has been able to slowly make its way into some of America’s highest positions of power. And only with organized resistance, clear-cut political goals and coalitions, and active engagement in every election will the majority of citizens be able put the country back on track.
What you can do to help (a not-so exhaustive list of action items)
IMPORTANT MIDTERMS TO VOTE IN OR PHONEBANK FOR:
Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Election (Democratic candidate Josh Shapiro has vowed to veto any abortion ban, while Republican candidate Doug Mastriano has indicated he would support a total abortion ban, with no exceptions for even the life of the mother)
Kansas Gubernatorial Election and Referendum (Though unlikely to stop abortion bans, voting for Laura Kelly will make it significantly harder for Kansas’ red senate to pass restrictions regarding abortion. Kansans also will vote on August 2nd on whether abortion is restricted by Kansas’ constitution or not, which will determine whether or not the Republican Senate has control over abortion)
Arizona Gubernatorial Election (Arizona is passing a 15-week abortion ban in September, but in order to stop this from going any further, vote for or support Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs)
Wisconsin Gubernatorial and Attorney General Elections (current Governor Tony Evers and AG Josh Kaul have promised to not enforce the state’s current abortion ban and pardon doctors who perform the procedure. Make sure they get re-elected!)
North Carolina State Senate (though current Governor Roy Cooper has vowed to not touch abortion legality, Republicans can soon override that sentiment by obtaining a ⅗ majority in the state senate, allowing them to pass abortion bans)
Georgia Gubernatorial Election (Georgia currently has a 6-week abortion ban that can go into effect as soon as the Court of Appeals allows, which could happen extremely soon. Vote for Stacey Abrams.)
This interactive map shows you where your nearest protest is: https://map.wewontgoback.com
Donate to Planned Parenthood, specifically in the states that have or are enstating abortion bans: https://www.weareplannedparenthood.org/onlineactions/cOJVhOyrzkq4uBcxVekXFA2?tabs=true&sourceid=1000063
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