The Buzz: Overturning Roe v. Wade Bends the Arc of Justice the Wrong Way

“How dare they tell a woman what she can do and cannot do with her own body? How dare they? How dare they try to stop her from determining her own future? How dare they try to deny women their rights and their freedoms?” 

These words were spoken by Vice President Kamala Harris at a gala held by Emily’s List earlier this week in response to the leaked “first draft” Supreme Court opinion that overturns Roe v. Wade, the nearly 50-year-old ruling granting people the right to abortion. Politico released the report on Monday and a firestorm ensued. Strident protests are happening around the country both in favor of and in opposition to the impending ruling. The decision is expected to be handed down by the high court in June or early July.   

This decision would go against the sentiments of most Americans; almost 70% of the American public are in favor of the protections granted by Roe v. Wade. Journalists and politicians have used terms over the past few days like “devastating,” “horrifying,” “disgusting,” “outrageous,” and “a crisis moment trying to turn the clock back 100 years.” Some said that it rocks their confidence in the Supreme Court.

We should not be surprised. This was the plan all along. The signs have been there for years. Hillary Clinton predicted in 2016 that a conservative Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade. This is a reason the Republicans blocked Barack Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland. This is what the conservatives want, and they planned this very methodically. The three new conservative justices appointed by Donald Trump gave answers during their hearings that suggested they would not rule against precedent, indicating that Roe v. Wade was “settled law.” It appears that they deceived the Senate. (Again, no surprise). Some pundits predicted that the high court might put limitations on the 1973 decision but not reject it entirely. 

In the leaked draft opinion, Justice Samuel Alito writes: “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.” Alito said the founding fathers did not think abortion was a fundamental right. Of course they did not! The founding fathers did not think that women had any rights, not even the right to vote. Such an argument is ludicrous! If The Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade, it opens the door to challenge any right that is not specifically named in the Constitution (written over 200 years ago!) such as rights to contraception, private sexual activity, and marriage equality. I did not read Alito’s entire opinion to understand what specific damaging consequences he is referring to but, in my opinion, the consequences of overturning the ruling will not only have damaging but dire, far-reaching consequences for freedom, justice, and equity. This ruling would exacerbate racism, classism, sexism, and criminalization of already marginalized and oppressed groups and sets our quest for justice back hundreds of years.

If the Supreme Court rules to overturn Roe v. Wade, it is another real example where such a decision would have a disproportionate impact on BIPOC. Before the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling giving people rights to their reproductive health, Black and Brown people more often died from botched abortions than white people because they did not have the financial means to get the procedure safely. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that from 1972 to 1974 alone, the mortality rate due to illegal abortion for BIPOC women was 12 times that for white women.  

Even though abortions will continue to be legal in about half of the states, the lack of financial resources to travel to those states remains a major concern. This practical barrier is paramount to amplify in addition the great moral injustice. Racial income inequality has not changed since the 70s. From 2007 to 2017, Black median household income only increased by $62 from $40,196 to $40,258. White household income increased by $3,056 from $65,089 to $68,145 during the same period. Today Indigenous women make 60 cents to every dollar a white man makes. For Black women, it is 64 cents, and 57 cents for Latinx women versus 79 cents for white women. Many economists believe that overturning Roe v. Wade would have a negative impact on women’s earning power and as such a negative effect on the economy in general.

This leaked opinion addressing the Mississippi case under review, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, would go even further by giving states the right to ban abortions at six weeks after conception — often before someone knows they are pregnant — and for all scenarios including incest and rape. It will allow states like Texas and Oklahoma to go forward with their draconian legislation that would prosecute people getting abortions and anyone who is associated with trying to assist … down to an Uber driver. Texas legislation even includes a “bounty hunter” clause paying at least $10,000 for turning in the “perpetrators.” Some 13 states have “trigger” legislation just waiting to enact if the high court rules against Roe v. Wade, and up to another 13 would likely follow.  

The fate of Roe v. Wade is just one example of how so-called conservatives are chipping away at equity and justice. The banning of books that tell the story of racism, “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and legislation restricting content in diversity training that makes participants “uncomfortable” are a few other examples of trends that go beyond conservatism to totalitarianism. Our democracy is indeed in jeopardy. As Vice President Kamala Harris said, we must fight for the freedom that so many sacrificed for over the last 400 and some years.  

There may not be much we can do in the short-term to change this ruling. We need to continue to put our focus on changing systems that allow these atrocious reversals of justice to continue. It is time to take radical measures. It is time for a constitutional convention to change and update narrow and misleading interpretations with a justice lens. Undeniably the definition of justice in 1787 did not include women, BIPOC, or other marginalized groups and apparently it still does not include us. We need to strategically uncover the roots and interconnected systems that the far right seems to understand and control.

Each of us will “fight” differently. You might be the activist who participates in protests, you might have a political bent and run for office or support those who share your values. Maybe you are an influencer on social or other media. Each of us can and must vote to elect officials who fight to undo unjust systems. This is no time for silence, complacency, or complicity. What will you do?

I will close by calling on the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that many of us are probably familiar with:

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”