Hey y’all, this is my little corner of the internet where I plan to hold the uncomfortable conversation of womanhood. With very little filtration, we will discuss Roe v. Wade, periods, endometriosis, and many other aspects of everyday life that are deemed “inappropriate” or “crude.” When I was 16, I was diagnosed with stage four endometriosis, so women’s healthcare is a deep passion that I hold dear to me. Therefore, when I heard about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, I was understandably heartbroken.
It has been a few weeks since the heartbreaking announcement that Roe v. Wade had been overturned. Since then, our country has undergone protests, confusing legal landscapes, and devastating medical stories. In order to fully understand the effect that Roe v. Wade has on America, it all starts with Jane Roe herself.
The Real Jane Roe: Norma McCorvey
Norma McCorvey, or Jane Roe, was born on September 22, 1947. When McCorvey was 16, she fell pregnant and gave the rights of the child to her mother. In 1967, she gave up another child for adoption, but when she found out she was pregnant in 1969, she wanted to have an abortion. However, in Texas, where McCorvey lived at the time, abortion was illegal unless the mother’s life was endangered by carrying to full term. With the help of attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington, McCorvey took her case all the way to the Supreme Court.
In 1970, McCorvey and her attorneys filed at the Dallas federal district courthouse, claiming the abortion laws went against the right to privacy, against the Texas district attorney, Henry Wade. The courts dismissed their request and they appealed to the Supreme Court. Roe v Wade was passed on January 22, 1973, stating that abortion was a constitutional right on the federal level.
Norma McCorvey and Her Attorney After the Supreme Court Passed Roe v. Wade
On June 28, 2022, there was a 5-4 vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, with the five being Samuel A. Alito, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil M. Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. This ruling has led to legal confusion for doctors, attorneys, and patients. Basic women’s healthcare will be affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Trigger laws will go into effect in over half of the United States, but not just for abortions. Birth control, which is under the same legal protection as abortions, will become underfunded and less accessible to the low-income public. “Additionally, the trigger bans may have significant impacts on those pursuing in vitro fertilization (IVF), as well as on the providers of such services. Ultimately, the trigger bans are an unconscionable attack on people’s most fundamental reproductive rights, sacrificed at the altar of a single-celled fertilized egg.”
The United State of America Supreme Court: October 27, 2020 – June 30, 2022
Here we are, almost fifty years after the passing of Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion has been taken away from all American women. America is one of the only first-world nations that has legal barriers on abortion, yet we deem ourselves to be a free nation. Women today face wage gaps, domestic violence, insufficient childcare, under mandated maternal care, etc. Not having full control over your bodily autonomy is more than enough to send the public into outrage. Our country is moving backwards in terms of civil liberties, rather than progressing forward like our founding fathers intended.
First off I would like to say that I am looking forward to reading each of your blogs, because as a man I feel very undereducated on women’s issues. The quote you used that referred to trigger bans as “unconscionable” really resonated with me, as I think that word is a good description for what is happening. It is truly unbelievable to me that a group of five people can have such a large negative impact on so many women in our country. Going forward I hope that our generation can restore and expand the rights that have been taken away from women.
Commenting on the background and basics of Roe v. Wade, particularly how the unjust structures in place back in 1967 came full circle in 2022, was a really intriguing “hook” for me. I have heard the quote “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” by Winston Churchill for a long time, and this is further proof as to the inherent truth of that line.
I really like some of the phrasings you used, like “devastating.” Additionally, when you talked about how not only will abortions be affected, but so will birth control; the lack of education around what Roe v Wade actually does is really astounding. It’s similar to how many people believe that planned parenthood is just an abortion clinic, when it also provides things like birth control, trans health resources, mental health resources, etc. People are only concerned about the “abortion” aspect and don’t realize what they’re fighting against.
I enjoyed how you gave us background on Roe v. Wade and how it came to be. I see elements from flair chapter 1 through out this writing. Sentences that stood out to me were “Here we are, almost fifty years after the passing of Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion has been taken away from all American women.” This really shows how history repeats itself no mater what we have seen/learned. I also liked how you used the word “heartbreaking” because the weight of that word is so strong and it shows how important this is.
I was recently having a conversation about roe v wade with my friends on campus and I had to come back to this blog to really get another perspective and introduce it to our conversation, I feel as though that many of the social issues that are womens social issues often get sweot under the rug long after the media has gotten their fill of public anger and rage and people often forget the importance of why everyone was so angry in the first place. I do like how your blog post here brings it up and truly sheds light on all parts of the matter and speaks on the matter more than just “its wrong” you use true and heartfelt feelings in this post and i enjoyed reading and learning.