May 3, 2022

Even though not a giant surprise, yesterday’s leak from SCOTUS was depressing…. really depressing for this boomer. Now, nearly 50 years after the Roe v. Wade, a decision purported to be “settled law” by at least one Supreme Court justice-to-be during confirmation hearings, it seems that the right of an individual to make reproductive choices might not be so settled after all.

As an undergraduate in 1973 when Roe v. Wade was decided, I do remember what the “before times” were like. Even at my small state college in New Hampshire there were whispers of young women, who for very personal reasons, sought an abortion. Frequently, such a decision could have horrific ramifications. With the news of SCOTUS’s potential reversal of Roe v. Wade, women from my generation chillingly have been sharing their stories. As painful and difficult as those stories are, reliving them is unfortunately necessary so that those who did not live through those nightmarish times can get a sense of what may be lost here.

I believe every woman should have the right to make reproductive health, or any other personal health impacted decision, in private and in consultation with her health-care provider. I don’t believe that intolerant politicians’ or judges’ personal philosophies have any business in such personal decisions. While I may want to believe an abortion would not have been my personal choice, that is only conjecture on my part. I was never tested by becoming pregnant as a result of rape or incest. I’ve never had to make a choice about continuing a pregnancy when there was a life-or-death circumstance like an ectopic or fallopian tube pregnancy. How would I, or you, or anyone really, know how they would respond?

In my opinion, whether or not one agrees with the idea of abortion is really not the point. The substance of this discussion should be focused on a woman’s ability to make a very personal decision about her own reproductive health, about access to safe reproductive health services with a health care provider, and consultation without fear of stigmatization or any government interference.

Whatever SCOTUS ultimately determines, we, as a society, cannot allow the ability to choose to be taken from any woman. It should never matter whether a woman is wealthy or poor, and access to reproductive health should never be determined along racial lines.

The right to decide one’s reproductive health is both a moral and physical determination that belongs with the individual. That was decided upon nearly 50 years ago.