50 Years After Roe v. Wade
I haven’t really gotten into the pro-choice/pro-life movement in this space. I haven’t said much about Roe v. Wade being overturned in the summer of 2022. I haven’t shared how it’s made me feel. But that changes today. I didn’t realize it til a story came on NPR yesterday about this weekend marking the 50th anniversary of the historic Roe decision.
Wow. In soooo many fricking ways our society and humankind as a whole doesn’t feel like it’s made much progress.
I’m angry and sad, confused and lost, scared for what life is going to be like for my children 50 years from now if we all don’t learn how to get along.
I don’t want to sit by silently anymore.
Fifty years ago, on January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court issued its landmark 7–2 decision in Roe v. Wade, protecting a woman’s constitutional right to choose. This case reaffirmed basic principles of equality, reinforced the fundamental right to privacy, and resolved that women in this country could control their own destinies — making deeply personal decisions free from political interference.
The Court got Roe right 50 years ago.
It was a balanced decision with broad national consensus that the majority of Americans have continued to support for the last 50 years. And it was a constitutional principle upheld by justices appointed by Democratic and Republican Presidents alike.
But 7 months ago, a conservative majority on the Supreme Court overturned Roe. Never before has the Court taken away a right so fundamental to Americans. In doing so, it put the health and lives of women across this Nation at risk. The Supreme Court opened the door for new challenges to other fundamental freedoms, including access to contraception and the right to marry whom you love. Millions of women now live in States with extreme bans on abortion, many without exceptions for rape and incest, or, where doctors can be jailed for providing reproductive care. Today, trailblazers who fought heroically for the Roe v. Wade decision are watching the next generation grow up without its protections.
The text above between the two dividing lines was taken directly from The White House website that you can access here with my own emphasis on points that really stick out to me.
If you want more information, check out the Center for Reproductive Rights where you can learn about, among other things, what your state’s abortion rights are after the fall of Roe; Planned Parenthood, news sites like NPR, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and more.
Don’t assume you know the details.
Don’t stay ignorant to what your rights are - or aren’t.
No matter what side of the fence you fall on, education is power.
