Image via Instagram by @bykellymalka
By Alexandra Barbera
We need to have a serious discussion about where we are as a nation because at this very moment there are men sitting in Congress making critical decisions over women’s bodies. Anti-abortion politicians are really anti-human rights politicians.
They spread damaging misconceptions about women’s health care while reinforcing blatant ignorance. However, in light of recent challenges, we need to harness our energy and remind ourselves that we have the power to generate change for ourselves and for future generations of women. In this political climate, it is crucial that now more than ever, we stand up, take action, and make our voices heard because reproductive health care is a human right!
1. A Brief Historical Recap
Abortions existed long before the landmark case of Roe v. Wade. In the 1960s abortions were sought out legally and illegally. While legal abortions were available in some states, the approval process to access procedures were often lengthy and costly. Moreover, policies in states that legalized abortions, such as Texas, largely determined how, when and whether women were entitled to get an abortion, often only granting one for the purpose of saving a woman’s life. Some women opted to travel internationally to places like the United Kingdom where abortions were lawful and readily available.
Thus, legal avenues to get an abortion were not accessible to everyone, women with low socioeconomic statuses didn’t have the financial means to get one. These women often turned to illegal abortions, resulting in unsafe “back alley” procedures or self-induced abortions with the consumption of a combination of drinks and drugs. Illegal abortions were commonplace and linked to a series of risks, injuries or death. According to the Guttmacher Institute,“Estimates of the number of illegal abortions in the 1950s and 1960s ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million per year”. Minority Women were significantly more at risk and exposed to unsafe procedures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated “in 1972 alone, 130,000 women obtained illegal or self-induced procedures, 39 of whom died. Also, from 1972 to 1972, the mortality rate due to illegal abortion for non-white women was 12 times that for white women”
In the Supreme Court landmark case of Roe v. Wade, Norma McCorvey who went pseudonym of Jane Roe, wanted to terminate her unwanted pregnancy. She could not however, under Texas district law, get an abortion since her pregnancy didn’t pose a threat to her life. In opposition was Henry Wade, a former District attorney of Dallas County who was known for aggressively prosecuting doctors and medical professionals who performed abortions. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that access to safe and legal abortions was a constitutional right, legalizing abortion nationwide. “The number of deaths from abortion[s] [have] declined dramatically since Roe v. Wade”, making abortion and reproductive health services accessible to all women regardless of race, class, sex, or gender identity.
2. Title X & The Global Gag Rule
Title X is a federally funded family planning program that has subsidized affordable birth control and other reproductive and sexual healthcare resources since 1970. The program provides “grants to over 3,500 clinical sites, including public health departments and non-profit health centers” located across the country.
The Trump-Pence administration issued the global gag rule which prohibits Title X-funded healthcare providers from performing abortions or referring patients to centers that provide such services. It was a direct attack against organizations like Planned Parenthood (PPH) who was forced to withdraw from the Title X program due to the enactment of this anti-abortion policy. Planned Parenthood served nearly half (40%) of the 4 million low-income people who relied on Title X nationwide to access lifesaving cervical and breast screenings, birth control, health education, wellness exams, and testing and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or HIV.
3.What’s Happening Now? Could it Get Any Worse?
Not only is our essential right to obtain safe abortions under attack, but our sexual and reproductive healthcare as a whole is at risk. The defunding of organizations like Planned Parenthood pose a great threat to communities who may lose access to free or affordable life-saving health services.
Severe abortion restrictions have passed in 20 states, including 13 state bans. Alabama established the most extreme law, banning all abortions without any exceptions – not even in cases of rape or incest. At the federal level, access to basic primary or preventative health care services through Title X are in peril due to recent restrictions and the global gag rule.
4. Why it Matters
“Abortion is common, nearly 1 in 4 women in America will have an abortion during her lifetime”
It matters because our bodies are not up for debate, it matters because we all deserve access to safe reproductive health care.
Due to systematic barriers, women of color and low-income families living in oppressive conditions make up the majority of those relying on Title X to receive essential healthcare.
These systematic barriers include access to education, financial and social service systems. For instance, there is a no priority put on delivering sex education in urban schools leading to a lack of use of proper contraception among urban youth. Additionally, this is not just a cis women issue, it is an LGBTQ+ problem as well. Transgender individuals also get abortions. We all benefit as a society when patients are given the choice to determine the size of their family and timing of that family. Regardless of the reasoning behind why someone gets an abortion, it is THEIR BODY, and Their CHOICE.
As Planned Parenthood has said “It’s up to us — not politicians or judges — to make these fundamental decisions.”
5. The Dangers of Trump’s Political Agenda
Throughout his presidency, Trump vowed to nominate judges who could “automatically” overturn Roe v. Wade. Starting January 2017, Trump reinstated and expanded the Global Gag Rule and in October 2018, Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to a lifetime seat on the U.S. Supreme Court by the Senate. Kavanaguh’s placement with the U.S. Supreme Court only strengthens the anti-abortion majority within the court. Currently, anti-abortion politicians have made attempts to pass a nationwide ban on all abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy. There is an existing federal abortion ban that was passed in 2003 and was then upheld through the Supreme Court in 2007—criminalizing specific abortion procedures in the 2nd pregnancy trimester.
Overturning Roe. v wade would put so many women at risk of losing safe access to not only abortion, but also other vital reproductive health care services. It is imperative for Congress to push specific legislation that protects Title X from the Trump-Pence administration attacks. According to NPR, as of July 19th 2019, Planned Parenthood has been forced out of the Title X funding program due to Trump’s relentless enforcement of the Global Gag Rule. However, Planned Parenthood along with other clinics are still open and doing their best to serve all patients. Check out this interactive map to check abortion access near you.
6. How to Take Action Today!
- Educate your friends and family on current federal and state policies on sexual and reproductive healthcare.
- Support reproductive and sexual health organizations such as Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America by promoting their work, volunteering or donating.
- Mobilize your community by connecting and empowering others to engage in social change! Share your concerns in the fight for sexual and reproductive rights!
- Stay in the know—visit the offices of elected officials or potential candidates by attending campaign events.
- Call or meet with representatives in your city or stat—your voice matters!
How long do we remain indifferent before our reality becomes the dystopian vortex of The Handmaid’s Tale? First, they take away our constitutional rights. Then, they attempt to silence us by suppressing our voices and making decisions that diminish our autonomy. I refuse to live in a society that manifests into a place where a woman’s value is dictated by her ability to bear children and one where her body is defined under the rule and authority of men. We are each entitled to choose our own destiny, it is our human right.