By Andrea Carlise, IANGEL Executive Director*
*This blog was written in May 2022, prior to the release of the final Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Womens’ Health Organization.
As we all likely know by now, the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer with its impending decision on Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. With the draft decision penned by Justice Alito that was publicly leaked in early May, it became clear that the majority of the Court does not believe in a constitutional right for pregnant persons to obtain an abortion. Despite almost 50 years of jurisprudence, Justice Alito’s draft decision would take away a fundamental constitutional right for the first time. Though other precedents have been overturned, if the final decision is similar to the leaked draft, this will be the first time the Court has revoked, rather than expanded, a fundamental freedom with the stroke of its pen.
When I was in college at UC Davis, my birth control failed, and I became pregnant. Thankfully, this was in 1985 and I was able to get the health care I needed at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Sacramento, after an unfortunate experience at a so-called “crisis pregnancy center” in Davis. I shudder to think that my daughter may not be able to decide whether or not to continue a pregnancy if she chooses to live in one of the 26 states that will no longer recognize the right to abortion care when the federal right is overturned.1 Even more distressing is the fact that the change in the law will fall most heavily on those who cannot afford to travel to another state, take time away from work, or find child care while they seek health care. Of course, this is already a reality in some states.
In all likelihood, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will take away our right to bodily autonomy – to make decisions about when, whether, and how to have children at a time when other countries are expanding that right. Colombia, Mexico, Ireland, and Argentina have all recently relaxed abortion restrictions. Turning authority over to the states to make laws on abortion will result in state-enforced pregnancies in about 26 states according to the Guttmacher Institute. Gutting the right to self-determination for those who become pregnant will make it impossible to attain gender equality. As the National Women’s Law Center has stated:
“The primary focus of Justice Alito’s draft opinion is a lengthy review of common law court decisions, 19th century statutes, and historical legal treatises—all written by men memorializing the law at a time when women generally had no independent legal status—to conclude that the right to liberty does not encompass the right to abortion. In this way, the draft relies on a sexist history of men denying rights to women in order to deny rights to women and all who can become pregnant.”2
Reproductive Justice is a primary focus of IANGEL’s work. We joined the National Women’s Law Center and 71 other organizations in submitting an Amicus Brief in the Dobbs case supporting the right to abortion. IANGEL issued this statement expressing our outrage in response to the leaked draft decision by Justice Alito.
IANGEL is working with partner organizations to develop programming and action items for reproductive justice advocates and supporters to take after SCOTUS releases its final decision in Dobbs. Stay tuned for more information about our work. In the meantime here are some links to resources to help us turn our outrage into action so my daughter and all people who may become pregnant can access safe, legal abortion care: iangel.org/repro-resources
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