The overturning of Roe v. Wade has been one of the biggest injustices in women’s reproductive rights to arise from the Supreme Court in recent history. It is clear that this decision violates women’s right to privacy and autonomy, involved a large amount of political and personal bias, and will cause far more suffering than it plans to solve for the American population.
The first and most obvious reason this ruling is unjust is the fact that it blatantly infringes on women’s right to autonomy and privacy. In the initial Roe v. Wade hearing, it was decided in an almost unanimous vote that a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion was protected under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment which states: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States” (U.S. Const. amend. 14), the right to receive an abortion being one of these privileges.
Another reason this reversal is a clear display of injustice is the apparent bias and insertion of politics into what should have been an impartial decision. It is not the duty of the Supreme Justice to impose their personal opinions and feelings onto the law; however, this is precisely what happened during the hearing to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. In Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s 213-page opinion, he describes abortions as “gruesome and barbaric” (Alito, 2022, p. 78). Alito’s language does not display a shred of objectivity; instead it reeks of clear personal bias and prejudice that this Justice no doubt came into the hearing holding. Alito’s prejudice becomes evident when considering his political standing, as he is currently the most conservative member of the Supreme Court. In addition, the Supreme Court’s current make-up has the highest ratio of Republicans to Democrats since 2009, with six Republicans and only three Democrats, making it almost impossible to come to a neutral position on any case. However, in an ideal world, the political standings and biases of the Supreme Court Justices would not have any impact on their final judgments, but in the real world where a potentially necessary, life-saving procedure is described as “barbaric” it is clear that is not the case.
The final reason the overturning of Roe v. Wade is a step backward for the country is that it is likely to cause far more harm than it aims to alleviate. A pattern we have seen time and time again in states that have entirely outlawed abortion is a sharp rise in pregnancy mortality rates. A study done by Amanda Jean Stevenson, a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder, calculates that a nationwide abortion ban would cause a 21% increase in maternal mortality rates (Marshall, 2021). It is not hard to conclude why this is the case. Mothers are still going to seek abortions despite the abortion ban but are now forced to go through unsafe, now illegal means to obtain one.
All in all, the overturning of Roe v. Wade stands as a significant injustice in recent history in the realm of women’s reproductive rights. The decision not only infringes on women’s fundamental right to autonomy and privacy, but it also reveals a troubling injection of personal bias and political considerations into what should be an impartial judicial process.
References:
United States. (1868). Constitution of the United States of America: Fourteenth Amendment.
Alito, S. A., Thomas E. Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health et al V. Jackson Women’s Health Organization et al.: On writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the fifth circuit (2022).
Marshall, L. (2022, July 6). Study: Banning abortion would boost maternal mortality by double-digits. CU Boulder Today. https://www.colorado.edu/today/2021/09/08/study-banning-abortion-would-boost-maternal-mortality-double-digits
