The Potential Overturning of Roe v. Wade

There has recently been a large amount of controversy and attention pressed onto the Roe v. Wade supreme court decision. It was passed on January 22, 1973, and was a landmark decision in regards to women's reproductive rights. At its barest bones, this case legalized abortion across the United States. 

However, recently this decision has been put at risk and put under close scrutiny. 

On May 2, 2022, a document on behalf of the Supreme Court was leaked, depicting a plan to overturn Roe v. Wade. This caused massive protests, advocating for women’s health and their rights. This bill, which was made public by the news outlet Politico, all-out bans all abortion and makes it illegal. 

According to Women’s Health Magazine, only 16 states out of the whole country have sanctions in place to protect the right to have an abortion. New Jersey is one of those states, along with California and New York. More liberal states have laws protecting abortion, while conservative states are ready to ban it all together. 

If Roe v. Wade gets overturned by the Supreme Court, thousands of women have the chance to be severely hurt. Roe v. Wade protects life-saving procedures, such as Ectopic pregnancies,  which is when the fetus grows outside the womb. These types of pregnancies can be fatal to the mother, causing life-threatening bleeding. A way to save the mother’s life is through abortion. 

By banning abortion, situations like this can lead to the death of the mother. As of May 31, 2022, there has been no extreme movement in the case available to the public. One thing’s for certain however, is that this will change the way women’s reproductive health is viewed.