Jan. 22 marked the 53rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that protected the right to have an abortion. In 2022, the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade under a conservative majority, leaving the question of abortion rights to be decided by individual states. The decision now affects people across the nation who are seeking to obtain safe and legal abortions.
Since the ruling of Dobbs v. Jackson, the right to an abortion has been banned in 13 states and restricted in many others.
Third-year student Sofia Ream, who has served as the President of Planned Parenthood Generation at Case Western Reserve University for a year, pointed out that abortion bans primarily affect low-income patients and abortion doctors.
“Imagine just one day you had a career, and then immediately it becomes illegal,” she said. “You’re kind of at a loss there. And then on the patient side, you’re completely out of options almost immediately, especially if you don’t have the financial resources to travel to get an abortion.”
Many pro-choice advocates emphasize that the effects of abortion bans are particularly stacked on people in marginalized and low-income communities. Since the overruling of Roe v. Wade, recent reports have said that the rates of abortion procedures have actually risen, proving that bans make abortions less safe, not less common. In states with abortion bans, pregnant women are almost twice as likely to die while carrying a child, during childbirth or shortly after giving birth in abortion-legal states.
“The vast majority of this country supports abortion access,” Ream said.
Research shows that around 63% percent of Americans are in favor of legalizing abortion access. This has not stopped further barriers from being implemented against such treatment.
Despite the restrictions since Roe, liberal states have made new efforts to improve reproductive care and abortion access. In 2022, over 200 bills were introduced in state courts and of them, 42 passed. 11 states have enacted additional policies to expand access to reproductive care, like protections for those traveling from states with abortion bans. In several states, such as Maryland, New York and Vermont, voters have decided to embed abortion rights into their constitutions.
When asked what she saw for the future of abortion rights, Ream described having doubts about changes under the current administration, but she was positive about the work of state-level Democrats and congressmen, as well as advocacy groups.
“A lot of grassroots organizations have grown a lot since the overturn … of Roe v. Wade, and there’s just a lot more local and collective support for people who are in situations where they need abortion care and it’s more difficult for them to access [it],” she said. “So while I don’t think there will be an overarching reinstating of Roe v. Wade, I think that people are more aware now of that need. And so there is still a lot of hope for people in [that] situation.”