A couple of months ago, I was surfing the web and looking at what has been going on in the world, and I found out that a certain Supreme Court decision was being overturned. Of course, I did not really know what was going on because I was looking at the entertainment, but I got curious. I looked it up and I was unpleasantly surprised to see that it was Roe vs. Wade that was overruled by Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. “Does this mean that abortion is illegal?” I thought. 

Roe vs. Wade  

   According to a summary of the case on the Oyez website, which is sponsored by Cornell University’s Legal Institute, Roe vs. Wade started when a woman with an alias filed a lawsuit against Henry Wade (the district attorney of Dallas County) because of a Texas law making abortion illegal except by a doctor’s orders to save a woman’s life. “In her lawsuit, Roe alleged that the state laws were unconstitutionally vague and abridged her right of personal privacy, protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments.” She proved that the law was unconstitutional and was restricting her rights as a human being and won the case.  

   I wasn’t really pleased when I learned that Roe vs. Wade was recently overturned because I want every woman and girl to have the right to choose and their privacy, but to really understand the new decision we must look at The Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Case. 

 The Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization 

  According to a summary of The Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, also posted on Oyez website, this case overturned Roe vs. Wade by pleading that the Supreme Court doesn’t decide if abortion should be legal and that each state should choose. “The Constitution does not mention abortion. The right is neither deeply rooted in the nation’s history nor an essential component of ‘ordered liberty.’”  

   This act just gives states free range to do what they want with abortion and lets the Mississippi law “Gestational Age Act” continue. This means women in anti-abortion states such as Mississippi will have to travel out of their state to gain access to abortion and most people don’t have that kind of money. 

   This is an abrasion on me as a person.  I can only imagine what if it happened to me? I’d feel terrible, and I can’t travel. I don’t have a passport. I don’t have that type of money and neither do my parents. I’d have to suck it up and take care of this child taking on multiple jobs working hard and having no time for my child that requires love, care, attention, all 5 types of love languages and understanding. They’d have issues and everyone in this situation ends up tired and upset.   

Effects On Human Rights 

      Ana Langer from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in the article titled “The negative health implications of restricting abortion access” predicted that  “if the Supreme Court were to limit or overturn Roe, abortion would remain legal in 21 states and could immediately be prohibited in 24 states and three territories. Millions of people would be forced to travel to receive legal abortion care, something that would be impossible for many due to a range of financial and logistical reasons.” This is what is happening now as Roe Vs. Wade has been overturned. 

    The impact of not letting women have an abortion would mean more people suffering because of  financial issues, mental issues, and the children who end up in the adoption system who face a lot of personal issues. 

   I wouldn’t want any person to end up in this situation; therefore I want everyone to have a choice and to be safe. The more that people understand sex education, the less abortions will have to take place. I believe the government should encourage safe sex and provide more protection to avoid abortion if they want to implement abortion laws.  

Hyde Amendment 

    The justices who overturned Roe and politicians who are against abortion don’t give people with no money a choice to abort either. According to the “Hyde Amendment” article posted on the website for Planned Parenthood, “Since 1976, the Hyde Amendment has blocked federal Medicaid funding for abortion services (since 1994, there have been three extremely narrow exceptions: when continuing the pregnancy will endanger the patient’s life, or when the pregnancy results from rape or incest). This means Medicaid cannot cover abortion even when a patient’s health is at risk and their doctor recommends, they get an abortion.” 

    This makes it even harder on people who are low-income and cannot support a child. People just want to be able to control their future and want to live their life as they please without harming people.  There is nothing wrong with not wanting a child to be part of your life by both men and women. 

      Both men and women should have a say, but not without responsibility: making sure if they want the child, they have met the needs for a child. Not only is this important to women with a choice, but to girls who experienced the horror of rape and must carry the baby with silence because of fear. Making sure women, men, and children are safe from people with ill intent is the priority.