HISTORY OF ABORTION PRACTICES PRE-COLONIZATION
Abortion has existed since the dawn of time. There is evidence that ancient Egyptians, ancient Greeks, and Europeans used medicinal herbs to terminate pregnancies. When focusing on the United States, there is evidence from the 1600s to 1900s of abortions taking place. In the 1600s, in the throes of slavery, enslaved women would use cottonwood to end pregnancies as a result of rape by slave owners. They would also use “the savin from the juniper bush, pennyroyal, tansy, ergot, and Seneca snakeroot to abort pregnancies.”
From the 1600s to the 1800s, abortion was legal in the United States. It was widely practiced and was advertised in newspapers, could be purchased from pharmacists, and other health care providers, and could be sent to pregnant people through the mail. That is until 1821 when Connecticut became the first state to introduce a restrictive law on abortion. It made it illegal for pregnant women to receive or take any type of medication, poison, intended to induce a miscarriage. By 1860, 20 states had laws in place which prohibited abortion. By 1873, the Comstock law, a law passed in 1873 that criminalized contraceptives and abortion, except in instances deemed absolutely necessary by a licensed doctor. Laws continued to criminalize abortion and contraceptives until Roe v. Wade in 1973.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK & WHAT LED TO THE DECISION IN ROE V. WADE
Roe v. Wade is one of the most controversial landmark decisions. Roe v. Wade is a legal case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 22nd, 1973. In a 7-2 decision, the Court ruled that unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion is unconstitutional. The question before the Court was if the Constitution recognizes a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion. The Court held that Texas statutes criminalizing abortion violated a woman’s constitutional right to privacy.
The legal proceedings started three years before making it to the Supreme Court, when Jane Roe, a woman who wanted to procure an abortion legally and safely, initiated an action against the District Attorney of Dallas County, Texas challenging the law that made it a crime to perform an abortion unless a woman’s life was at stake. The plaintiff's contention was that under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, there was an inherent right to privacy that protected a person’s choice on whether to have an abortion.
The case was argued twice before the Supreme Court, and by the time the case was decided, Roe had already given birth. It was initially heard on December 13th, 1971, but two Justices had recently retired, and the remaining Justices decided that the case should be heard by a full bench.
In the end, Roe v. Wade is held as a case safeguarding a person’s right to access safe abortions. At the time, the case was before the court, nearly all states outlawed abortion except in instances where the abortion was to preserve the pregnant person’s health, rape, incest, or fetal abnormality. The case says that during the first trimester, the state may not regulate the abortion decision, only the pregnant person. However, during the second trimester, the state can enact regulations that are reasonably related to the health of the person carrying the child. By the third trimester, the Court determined that once the fetus reaches viability, the state may regulate abortions and prohibit them if exceptions are made when abortion is necessary or lifesaving.
The decision set a legal precedent that is still contested today, with several attacks having their oral arguments heard last year. In response to this aggressive political effort to abridge reproductive liberty, a national effort to combat these threats has emerged. Coalitions have formed among health care providers, reproductive justice advocates, and legal practitioners to protect our communities against the threat of injustice.
THE LEGACY OF ROE V. WADE
Roe sparked a revolution. Before the case was argued before the Supreme Court, abortion was illegal throughout the country. Depending on the outcome of cases pending in front of the Court, we could regress to a past with fewer reproductive freedoms. There will be pregnant people who will have the means to obtain an abortion by traveling or getting one illegally, but these options may still be out of reach to many pregnant persons. Some pregnant people may resort to dangerous measures or self-regulated abortions.
Jane Roe was a pregnant woman who sought an abortion, didn’t have the means for procuring an out-of-state abortion. She sought out Texas providers looking for legal abortion and was denied one. In the absence or unavailability of legal and safe abortions, pregnant people will find a way to manage their pregnancies and subsequent abortions. These illegal abortions carry with them the risk of permanent damage, sterility, and often times even death.
The majority of laws that regulate reproductive health and freedom are made and enforced by men who will never be pregnant or have the privilege of not knowing what a lack of choice feels like. Threats to reproductive freedom must be met with solidarity and coordinated action by the persons subject to its gravest liabilities.
WHAT THE DECISION IN DOBBS V JACKSON COULD MEAN FOR ABORTION RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Currently, the decisive case on abortion before the Supreme Court is Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which will determine the fate of whether pre-viability abortions will be allowed to be carried out legally. The importance of the outcome of this case cannot be understated.
Abortion is healthcare. Abortion is common. SisterLove and the majority of Americans support abortion. Childbearing persons deserve access to safe and legal abortions as a constitutional and moral right. The recent appointees to the Supreme Court, while short of explicitly decrying abortion rights, were selected with an intention to tip the scales of justice towards further restricting access to abortion, or even overturning Roe altogether.
CONTINUING THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
While today we celebrate 49 years of judicial victory, we must be ever aware that our reproductive rights are still under constant threat.
Roe has been important in the fight towards freedom from reproductive oppression. While many accomplishments have been won, we still exist in a world where abortion access is inaccessible to many. With the potential overthrow of Roe comes the possibility that abortion will be outlawed in multiple states in this country. That is where SisterLove comes in.
Our Policy and Advocacy Program team works with coalitions and working groups to advocate and influence policy, pushing the pendulum towards sexual health and reproductive freedom.