On Monday of this week, Politico published a leaked document written by Justice Samuel Alito, stating that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.” Roe v Wade is set to be overturned, and with it, safe access to abortions across the US.
To be clear, abortion would not be outlawed nation-wide but would be left to each state's discretion. More than half of the country - at least 26 states - are expected to remove abortion rights, signalling an "impending catastrophe".
If Roe is overturned, this means people who need an abortion, for any number of reasons, may have to travel hundreds of miles to acquire one legally. The Guardian highlighted, for instance, that someone who lives in Louisiana would have to travel to Illinois to find the nearest abortion clinic - more than 500 miles - requiring resources, money, logistical support and time. |
|
This is invariably going to impact people of colour and low-income people the most acutely. It will also impact those who remain in states where abortion is legal, as wait times will likely skyrocket.
The Cut list the states and relevant funds that need your help the most. Even now, while Roe still stands, access to abortion is severely restricted in these states. Mississippi, for example, has just one abortion clinic left and a post-Roe trigger ban set to pass.
The reversal of Roe v Wade is a feared "tipping point" for a wider erosion of human rights and anxiety is mounting around other Supreme Court decisions such as the right to contraceptives, gay marriage and other fundamental civil liberties. The US was once a global leader for women's rights; now, it's set to restrict basic bodily autonomy.
|
|
