Roe v. Wade: What This Means For Other Rights [EDITORIAL]

Roe v. Wade, the 1973 court case that ruled the excessive state regulation of abortions to be unconstitutional, was recently overturned in July of 2022. The U.S Supreme Court justices Amy Conen Barrett, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh all voted to overturn Roe v. Wade after almost 50 years. We believe unquestionably that Roe v. Wade should not have been overturned because of the huge infringement it is on Women’s rights. The government chose to make it a right back in 1973, they should not be allowed to take it away. Roe v. Wade getting overturned brings up the question of whether other liberties, like same-sex marriage or equal protection could be taken away as well.  

We believe that it is extremely important that at one point, specifically in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the right to abortion as a fundamental liberty that was protected under the fourteenth amendment. It essentially guaranteed individuals the right to make personal decisions about <a href="http://<!– wp:paragraph –> <p>We believe that it is extremely important that at one point, specifically in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the right to abortion as a fundamental liberty that was protected under the fourteenth amendment. It essentially guaranteed individuals the right to make personal decisions about family and childbearing.<a href="https://www.reproductiverights.org/sites/crr.civicactions.net/files/documents/factsheets/Constitutional-Protection-for-the-Right-to-Abortion-Fact-Sheet2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.reproductiverights.org/sites/crr.civicactions.net/files/documents/factsheets/Constitutional-Protection-for-the-Right-to-Abortion-Fact-Sheet2.pdf</a> We have now marched into uncharted territory in which an influential right that was once granted, was now taken away.  </p> family and childbearing. We have now marched into uncharted territory in which an influential right that was once granted, was now taken away.  

Our system is based off the Constitution which was written back in 1787, and our society has progressed an enormous amount since then. In a lot of cases, the U.S Constitution has not progressed with it. A prime example of this would be how Republicans hide behind the Second Amendment in the instance of gun control and use it as a means to not implement heavier gun restrictions despite the problem of mass shootings in this country. This is extremely troubling. The constitutional is also heavily up to interpretation in many instances, and as society has progressed, there has been a shifting public opinion that goes along with it.  

We are living in scary times, where many important rights could be overturned. One of the Justices, Clarence Thomas wrote, “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence and Obergefell.” scarily referring to court rulings that protect same-sex relationships, same-sex marriage and the protection of contraception, according to NPR. President Biden even stated that Thomas explicitly called to reconsider the right to marriage equality, and the right of couples to make their choices on contraception which is an extremely dangerous road we are starting to take.  

We think that the government as a whole needs to do a better job of helping women who are already struggling in poverty with children they cannot afford. The government can help by implementing policies that will help woman better access to healthcare, sex education and contraception. These things will actually reduce abortion. Forcing a woman to bear a child they do not want, and then doing nothing to help that mother or child once it is born, is not only extremely not Pro-life, but American society is not at the point where banning abortion will do anything or make any difference besides making it more unsafe for women in the U.S. overall. The U.S Supreme Court were the ones to recognize Roe v. Wade as a right in the first place, and they should not be able to give and take away rights as much as they please.  

The argument that abortion is not being taken away but being left to State legislators is also an issue. This decision that takes the privacy of abortion and hands it out to legislators across the country will make it extremely difficult to get an abortion all across the country. According to Guttmacher, at least 26 of the 50 states are likely to either heavily restrict or ban abortion.  

Overall, Roe. V Wade getting overturned is an extremely dangerous path to take, and we are fearful this is only the beginning of what other liberties that we’re previously given will be questioned or taken away. We are heading into uncharted territory and there is no telling what could potentially happen in the U.S going forward. What we do know is, if other liberties goes in the same direction as Roe v. Wade has, it is going to have detrimental effects on not only women but U.S citizens alike.