“If you can’t do what you want for your body, then you don’t have rights.” As said by BSGE student Chimi Tshogay, privacy is a basic right.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade has affected this right, which has negatively impacted women’s rights. But before we get into that, here is a quick summary of the Roe v. Wade case and why it was overturned.
Roe v. Wade was a Supreme Court case in 1973 that legalized abortion. It presented abortion as part of the right to privacy. This case ruled that abortion should be a constitutional right, allowing women to make decisions about their bodies.
Under Roe v. Wade, abortion was allowed as long it was approved by a doctor. Abortions were generally permitted in the first two trimesters of pregnancy.
A factor that led the judges to pass Roe v. Wade was the fact that people often performed “back alley” or illegal abortions because they were desperate. This was very dangerous and caused many deaths. Making abortion legal stopped these deaths.
In 2022, the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade by a vote of 5-4, on the basis that killing the fetus is equal to taking the life of an infant. This allowed states to now choose whether or not to legalize abortion.
Many states made abortion illegal right away through trigger laws. These are laws that were passed by state legislatures months or even years before Dobbs v. Jackson that automatically went into effect as soon as the case was overturned.
This decision will affect women’s rights in the future because it presents the idea that women can no longer decide what to do with their bodies. It can be argued that their right to privacy and their choice is being taken away.
This presents a whole slew of problems. Such as now women are being shown as less important and the rights women earn are being revoked.
Our country asserts that all are equal no matter race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. We all have the right to privacy and this right to privacy is one of our most important rights. By taking away a woman’s right to abortion, her right to privacy is limited. This sends a message that women have less rights because they don’t have control over their own bodies anymore.
This change is a regression back to the earlier centuries. Women worked so hard to earn these rights and now they are being taken away.
A government should trust its people to know what is best for themselves and trust its women to know what is best for their own bodies.
Please note: I am not necessarily picking a side on the abortion argument but rather showing how it pertains to women’s rights in the future.