The Consequences of Roe v. Wade
The topic of abortion has long been a divisive topic in the political landscape of the United States, sparking fiery debates at all levels of governance. Protests and counter-protests have broken out across America, oftentimes with abortion clinics as the battlefield. For decades, the right of pregnant women to an abortion was protected by the landmark Roe v. Wade. However, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, it is time to analyze the political, social, and economic consequences of reversing a policy decision that has stood as a pillar of women’s bodily autonomy for decades.
In order to speak on the consequences of the decision to end the constitutional right to abortion, it is important to lend historical context to the subject of abortion in the United States. In early U.S. history, abortion was not publicly stigmatized for American women – rather, it was considered commonplace for women to ingest herbal abortifacients in order to facilitate abortion (Peterson, 2012). Furthermore, it was previously only illegal to have abortions after a certain stage of pregnancy called quickening, when a mother could feel the first movements of the fetus (Holland, 2016). But due to lack of medical knowledge and the difficulty of proving fetal movement, it was largely women who could feel and self-report. Before 1880, even the dominant contemporary anti-abortion force, the Catholic Church, had a softer stance on abortion prior to self-reported fetal movement (Ravitz, 2016). This placed a large amount of bodily autonomy and control over abortions to women. It is important to note as well that even in the early history of abortions in the U.S., it was largely the middle and upper classes who had access to the resources for safe abortions, a trend that is mirrored today (Peterson, 2012).
However, starting in the mid-1800s, there was a push by medical professionals, politicians, and clergy members to delegitimize abortion as it had been previously practiced by women. This was due to a myriad of factors that carried into the 20th century. Rising nationalism in the U.S. and Europe pre-WWI led nations to believe that more abortions would weaken the potential military power of the state amidst declining birth rates. The prevailing medical establishment believed that bodily autonomy for women in collaboration with traditional healing might infringe upon their medical practice. Finally, the clergy hardened their stance on abortion in response to greater societal scrutiny of the practice (Peterson, 2012; Ravitz, 2016).
Additionally, in recent years it has been the strategy of anti-abortion forces to focus specifically on the status of the fetus and the assignment of human traits to the fetus in order to portray abortions as murder, the status of the woman notwithstanding. As medical technology advanced, pro-life activists made the argument that the fetus becomes a legal human being at first heartbeat, and images of aborted fetuses are often used to portray the message that abortion is synonymous to murder (Holland, 2016).
It is worth noting as well that it is only relatively recently that anti-abortion stances became commonplace among American Conservatives. Before the 1970s, it was not uncommon for Republican representatives to be pro-choice, or at least not hostile towards abortion measures on a platform level (Williams, 2011). However, this changed in the 70s when the GOP used abortion as a wedge issue to sway a traditionally Democratic Catholic population, a decision that has resulted today in a largely religious, socially conservative base for the Republican party and a major force behind the mainstreaming of the anti-abortion movement.
This intersection of political, social, and economic interests surrounding the control of women’s bodily autonomy continued through the 20th century and into the present-day discussion on abortion. With the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the intersectional factors at play could potentially have consequences for women across the U.S. in the public health, political, and economic realms.
Firstly, getting rid of constitutional protections for abortion presents public health concerns for women, especially women who are disabled, BIPOC, working class, or survivors of sexual assault. In states where abortions are banned, a woman can be forced to give birth despite medical concerns or choice, which can negatively impact their economic and social opportunities against their will (Arons, 2022). Any bans on abortion will also disproportionately harm already marginalized groups, as it is these groups who will have even less access to resources for safe abortions, or even safe births. Additionally, there are health concerns for populations with an already high maternal mortality rate, such as Black women, who are more than three times more likely to die in childbirth or postpartum complications than White women (PRB, 2021). However, all women would feel the effects of abortion bans, as it is estimated that upwards of 21% of women could die per year due to complications brought on by forced pregnancy (Arons, 2022). Through these examples, it can be seen that the overturn of Roe v. Wade carries potential health consequences for all women, as well as far-reaching structural harm that will be done to marginalized women in the face of a state abortion bans.
Secondly, there are political ramifications related to the Supreme Court decision, ramifications that will affect women but other marginalized groups as well. The SCOTUS decision sets a dangerous legal precedent for the potential overturn of other important rulings that protect same-sex marriage, right to privacy, and access to birth control. According to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the overturning of Roe v. Wade should invite the overrule of other decisions such as Griswold v. Connecticut, Obergefell v. Hodges, and Lawrence v. Texas (Blake, 2022). In addition to the removal of abortion as a constitutional right, the potential removal of easy access to contraceptives in the future places strain for women to legally exert autonomy over their bodies in matters related to sex and pregnancy. The potential overruling of these legal cases would also have a marked and serious impact on the rights to same-sex marriages, essentially stripping certain political rights from marginalized groups such as the LGBTQ community.
Thirdly, the fallout from Roe v. Wade’s reversal will stand to have negative economic effects on the ability of women, especially women from marginalized communities. In an economic report delivered to the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, economists argued that the overturn of Roe would disproportionately harm women not just on a health level, but an economic level as well – women forced to undergo pregnancy and give birth stood far more likely to lose their job, undergo mental health crises, and destroy their future economic prospects (Kolhatkar, 2022). According to economists, it is the ability to secure safe abortions in society that largely allow women to participate in society. Removing the protections to abortion rights not only has health consequences, but also threatens the right of women to their own economic freedom.
In consideration of the history of abortion rights in the United States, abortion has long been a hotly contested social, political, and economic issue. The overturn of the landmark Roe v. Wade case is not the first attack on abortion rights in the U.S., but it does have the potential to have one of the furthest reaching intersectional impacts on women than previous legislation.
Work Cited
Arons, J. (2022, June 24). With Roe Overturned, What Comes Next for Abortion Rights? American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/what-comes-next-abortion-rights-supreme-court
Black Women Over Three Times More Likely to Die in Pregnancy, Postpartum Than White Women, New Research Finds. (2021, December 6). PRB. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.prb.org/resources/black-women-over-three-times-more-likely-to-die-in-pregnancy-postpartum-than-white-women-new-research-finds/
Blake, A. (2022, June 24). Clarence Thomas undercuts justices’ assurances about post-Roe rulings. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/24/thomas-opinion-post-roe/
Holland, J. (2016). Abolishing Abortion: The History of the Pro-Life Movement in America | The American Historian. Organization of American Historians. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.oah.org/tah/issues/2016/november/abolishing-abortion-the-history-of-the-pro-life-movement-in-america/
Kolhatkar, S. (2022, May 11). The Devastating Economic Impacts of an Abortion Ban. The New Yorker. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-devastating-economic-impacts-of-an-abortion-ban/amp
Peterson, A. (2012, November). From Commonplace to Controversial: The Different Histories of Abortion in Europe and the United States. Origins. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://origins.osu.edu/article/commonplace-controversial-different-histories-abortion-europe-and-united-states?language_content_entity=en
Ravitz, B. C. J. (2016, June 27). The surprising history of abortion in the United States. CNN. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2016/06/23/health/abortion-history-in-united-states/index.html
