The Supreme Court has just repealed nearly 50 years of precedent by overturning Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). Dobbs v. Jackson (2022) establishes that there is no constitutional federal protection for abortion, and that abortion itself is a “moral question” that should be left up to the states. As foreseen in the leaked draft opinion obtained by Politico back in May, the Court has now thrown us into a post-Roe America.

Pro-life Americans are celebrating the Court’s decision as a “victory for life.” Ironically and objectively speaking, that couldn’t be further from the truth. This SCOTUS decision will only cause more unwanted pregnancies (leading to more unnurtured children) and more otherwise preventable deaths. Millions of people will now suffer from not receiving the reproductive health care they need. Even more so will this decision directly affect POC in need of reproductive care, one effect being that unwanted pregnancies could lead to a 33% increase in pregnancy-related deaths among Black women.

Roe was overturned under the guise of preserving life. Yet this fight is – and always has been – about gaining control. The five SCOTUS Justices who united in this judgment have no plan to stop taking away your rights after Roe.

Justice Clarence Thomas said it himself in a concurring opinion to the Dobbs decision that “in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.” These three cases respectively protect your right to contraceptives, establish that criminal punishment for sodomy is unconstitutional, and give same-sex couples the right to marry. 

If the political debate surrounding abortion was truly an issue of “protecting life,” why is it that far-right politicians extend nothing but thoughts and prayers for the countless children who fall victim to gun violence in our country? Why do the very officials that run on a pro-life platform not support expanding programs like food stamps or improving the heavily flawed foster care system? Why aren’t pro-lifers fighting back against the environmental crisis that is actively destroying our planet, a consequence of which our children must endure?

Not to mention that this “moral question” of abortion is deeply rooted in Christian beliefs. Have we forgone separation of church and state? No level of our government is forcing an individual to have an abortion if they do not want one. But to leave this issue up to the states – especially when many make no exceptions to their abortion policies for rape and incest survivors – speaks to how egregiously out of touch these SCOTUS Justices’ are with the citizens of our country. Nearly 85% of American voters believe that abortion should be legal in some or all circumstances. Just because abortion is a “moral question” for some does not give the Court precedent to take away this right that has been federally preserved under two generations of Americans. 

We need to take a page out of our predecessors’ book, those of whom fought back against past unjust SCOTUS decisions – such as in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). It’s time to take action against this tyranny now more than ever, if history has taught us anything.

This coming election season, thoroughly research your candidates’ platforms to ensure that you are voting in state governors, representatives and senators that will stop at nothing to protect the right to reproductive health care. Every person deserves the right to their own bodily autonomy regardless of state lines.

Resources

• Donate to Planned Parenthood
• Donate to the ACLU and take the pledge
• National Network of Abortion Funds
• Find a protest near you