Celebrating 38 years of Roe v. Wade

Today is the 38th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. It is appropriate that my first full post falls on this date not just because I worked for a reproductive rights organization for the last ten years, but also, because I have wanted to write about it for even longer. I recently left that organization, allowing me to speak more freely.

Today I celebrate Roe v. Wade not because I fought to protect it for the past ten years but because women in the United States are still fortunate to have the right to make their own health care decisions. Without Roe v. Wade politicians would make decisions about from which health care procedures I can or cannot benefit, not me with the consult of a physician. It is a wonderful and awesome burden to carry.

The decisions women have to make about their lives, their health and that of their family are complex and difficult. For most women an unintended or problem pregnancy can be life changing, but every situation is different. In fact, their are as many reasons for choosing an abortion as their are women.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, half of all women in the United States will face an unintended pregnancy and 1 in 3 women will have an abortion within their lifetime. That is astounding. Many people uncomfortable with abortion use this statistic to call for a ban on the procedure. This statistic should bring just the opposite reaction. How can you ban a medical procedure that a third of American women will need in their lifetime? That is a horrible way to deal with the problem.

Yes, we all want to decrease the need for abortion. Banning, or even restricting access to the procedure cannot achieve that. We must first look at the many reasons women decide to have an abortion. The most common reason is that the pregnancy was unintended. Judging women for a lack of intention makes children a punishment instead of a joy. Instead, we must make preventing pregnancy easier in the first place. We must work toward better education and access to health care services.

We also must increase women’s parenting options. That means health insurance coverage of prenatal/maternity care, birth options, post natal and pediatric care. It also means living wages, affordable child care and employment protection for caregivers. In other words, our society must value motherhood. Anyone who calls him or herself pro-life must fully support and actively fight for these services. For without them, a woman cannot make a fair decision about unintended pregnancy and motherhood.

This goes right back to the difficult decisions (and sometimes easy decisions) women must make when facing an unintended pregnancy. The first question that often comes to mind is, “Can I care for a baby?” And if all the above things are not in line, the answer is more often than not no.

But even if the answer is yes, the pregnancy can still go awry. I have heard far too many heart wrenching tales of pregnancies that have had terrible outcomes, where long into the pregnancy, it was terminated to protect the mother’s health or life.

In my active fight for reproductive rights and justice, I have never asked anyone to support an abortion for themselves. Instead, I ask others to try to understand the world in which these difficult decisions are made and to respect and honor others decisions. I ask others to ensure that women have the ability to make and carry out this decision.

Carrying out her decision would have to mean she does not have to

• drive too far to find a provider
• face violence when she does reach her provider
• wait twenty-four hours after she has already made her decision
• get permission from her parents or partner or rapist
• pay too much for the procedure due to lack of health insurance, or
• be forced to pay for and view an medically unnecessary ultrasound.

The list goes on and on.

Despite all my discouragement regarding access to health care and circumstances to make a decision regarding an unintended pregnancy, I am still celebratory of Roe v. Wade. I am still grateful for being able to find safe abortion care in the United States. Indeed it, and all the hoops placed around it is all my generation has known.

However, I hope that the future holds a world where every child is wanted and loved.