Roe v. Wade is a court case that swept the nation and changed the view of fundamental human rights in the eyes of the law for decades. The titular case, passed in 1973, that allowed for abortion to be legal and considered a constitutional right, has now been overturned. What does this mean for the future of reproductive healthcare? In order to answer this question and allow for an understanding on the scope of this issue, it is important to understand the case’s history.

The story begins with a different court case which eventually led to Roe v. Wade, this case is known as Griswold v. Connecticut. The Supreme Court case which was decided on June 7, 1965, essentially called for the privacy of marital decisions and made it so that contraceptives could not be made illegal to use. It was ultimately found that this right to privacy should be protected in a 7 to 2 ruling.

Roe v. Wade on the other hand begins in Texas in 1970 just five years after the ruling of Griswold versus Connecticut, with a woman who went by the pseudonym Jane Roe. In Texas abortion was prohibited even in cases of incest and even rape, according to Oyez, “In her lawsuit, Roe alleged that the state laws were unconstitutionally vague and abridged her right of personal privacy, protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments.” The same “right to privacy” that was called into question during Griswold v. Connecticut under the Due Process Clause was now being brought to light once again when being faced with the idea of the need to protect human life under the law.

The court ultimately found that a pregnancy was not found to be viable during the first trimester. This meant that until the second trimester, it would be completely up to the person carrying the pregnancy whether they would like to have an abortion or not. Even in the third and final trimester an abortion could be considered if it meant that it would save the life of the mother or was absolutely necessary for other medical purposes.

Abortion can be carried out as a medical procedure for many reasons beyond someone simply not wanting to have a child. In some cases it may be dangerous for someone to carry out a pregnancy including scenarios like ectopic pregnancies. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when an egg cannot survive outside of the uterus, due to this complication it can cause organ damage and extreme blood loss that can lead to death for the person carrying out the pregnancy.

Due to the fact that Roe v. Wade has now been overturned many people are having to deal with very dangerous pregnancies that cannot be terminated. In one case a woman even ended up in jail because she was suspected of having attempted an abortion even though it was ultimately determined that she miscarried, it is clear to see the amount of privacy that this law provided.

But how did we get to the point that Roe vs Wade was overturned? The decision to overturn this law occurred on June 24, 2022, and resulted in multiple trigger bans including certain states outlawing abortion even in cases of rape and incest. The decision immediately caused funding to be pulled from health care options and support including Planned Parenthood in multiple states as well as protections for doctors and medical professionals who assist in these matters.

A trigger ban refers to  laws that were able to go into effect as soon as Roe versus Wade had become overturned and applied to thirteen different states immediately after the ruling. These states included Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

Many of these states where the trigger bans came into effect are also considered to be lower income which means that abortion and proper resources have now become inaccessible to many people that are part of the working class especially in the South.

There is a clear divide not only in the access of proper Health Care due to income  but it is clear that the court also is interested in going after the right to contraceptives, same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, and many more matters of equality. The attack on personal freedoms and privacy does not stop here, hence why it is important to use your voice when it comes to these issues and vote in the upcoming elections on November 8th 2022.