Leaked documents suggest Supreme Court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade ruling; Potential ban of abortions sparks protests

  In Roe v. Wade case, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. Recent leaked documents reveal the Courts plan to overturn this decision.

     According to the Global News website Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a draft that the abortion ruling “was egregiously wrong from the start.” He also wrote in the leaked draft “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled.” Junior Deane Conway explains the situation as “very not cool” and that “banning abortions is not going to make less happen…. it’s just going to make them less safe and increase the risk of someone getting hurt.” An anonymous junior supports the overturning because, “if you give it nine months from conception the fetus will turn into a full human being capable of sustaining itself, it is not fair to end the life before it even got to start.”

     Among protesters the sayings “my body my choice,” and “bans off our body,” is common. Media Technician Bridget Crenshaw adds that she believes, “to overturn this vote it would turn women’s choices backwards and we would put women in danger.” On the other hand, an anonymous junior explains the “argument that it is the women’s body, and she should get to choose is debatable. Because every single individual cell inside the fetus in the womb is separate from that from the mothers.” This student added that as “you can do whatever you want to your body but those cells inside you are a separate human being deserving of a life.”

     Planned Parenthood is a nonprofit organization that provides sexual health care in the United States. On their website they describe themselves as an organization who, “fights for laws and policies to protect your reproductive health and rights.” Crenshaw believes this organization is very important because it has become a, “healthcare organization for women in low income areas.” She elaborates by mentioning Planned Parenthood has abortions but also provides women with contraceptives, testing, prenatal care, and is a flow of regular healthcare.

      There are many worries on this potential limit on health care and what it could mean for women’s health. Conway believes it “could potentially lead to a lot of people dying from not having the aid of a doctor for abortions.” According to the CDC around 700 women die each year from pregnancy and the United States has the “highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations.” The anonymous student believes, “it is a separate case when a mother’s life is in danger due to pregnancy, in this case a medical abortion is morally right to save a the mothers life.”

     A reason citizens support the potential overturning of this case is adoption. Abortion vs. adoption has been a long existing debate, according to the American Adoptions website adoption gives a child a chance to live a happy life and the ability to help fulfill someone’s dreams of being a parent. Conway has an opposing view to this idea; they believe the adoption system is “completely messed up,” and “it is not a feasible solution. “The process is traumatic for the parent and child, putting a child through what they didn’t have to is cruel in my opinion.”

     Crenshaw said, “Overturning the vote will turn the mindset of people against something set up to help people.” The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) calls abortion “an essential component of women’s health care.”