Article and Graphics by AJ Baldemor
August 4, 2022
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On the 24th of June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States of America overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that gave people the constitutional right to abortion in a legal manner - thus leading to some states in the US banning and criminalizing abortion.
Abortion is and will always be a sensitive topic to talk about, it will raise numerous questions, differing arguments, and various debates siding on different sides, but most of all it will raise controversy. We have been discussing abortion for so long now that people are finally starting to de-stigmatize the topic and open conversations about it, which is a great thing. But we cannot just talk about them if women are being criminalized for doing something that they feel they should do. We can never say that the stigma surrounding abortion is gone if women across the world are still being denied the right and access to abortion.
On the day of Roe v. Wade’s overruling, people rallied in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. People from different cities across the United States rose and stood their ground with their voices as loud as ever, wanting for their screams and cries to be heard, as this decision will affect and dramatically change the lives of hundreds, thousands, millions of women in America and even the people they love. This ban on abortion doesn’t only tell women what they can and can’t do, but it is stripping them of the rights that they should have in the first place. Abortion is healthcare, and people should have access to healthcare because it is their right, and taking that away from them is something that the Supreme Court shouldn’t have done. This ban that they think is Pro-Life is not as pro for life as they believe it is. Do you think that you are still pro-life if you deny a woman of abortion; a woman who was raped and got pregnant by an abuser, a minor who was assaulted, a teenager who was not expecting a child, a person who is suffering because of what is inside them.
People who are in favor of the overturn were also present with their own rallies, preaching pro-life and saying that abortion is a crime - the same people who are only pro-life until the Person is a Person of Color, Person with Disability, LGBTQIA+, Poor, Person of a different race from them, and more tags and labels that the society has been putting on people for a long time - the same people who don’t care if the women carrying the fetuses suffer for what they are going through.
Nobody should have control over these women and tell them that they cannot get a medical procedure that they feel the need of having, not only this overrule takes away a woman’s choice, it takes away the decisions they should be making for their reproductive health. This decision will endanger the lives of many women and will have a huge impact on their lives- this will affect the future of many women knowing that they do not have the right to an abortion if they ever needed to get one for their own sakes. This drastic change will raise the risks of women dying, taking their own lives, getting illegal and unsafe abortions, and more reasons why we, the people should never stop fighting for our rights.
Abortion is a choice, and a choice is a right. We should stand up, take up space, raise our fists, and let our voices be heard until the oppressors, the people who want to control us and the people who side with them have no right to strip us of our rights. For now, the Women of America need us, the Women of the World need us. Spread awareness and knowledge on what is happening, inform people of what they are going through - be an advocate of change and stand up beside the women who are being stripped off of their rights. Give them back their choice.
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