By: Sorelle Kreter
In a 6-3 ruling on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States decided to overturn Roe V. Wade, a case which granted women in every American state the right to have an abortion. The overturning of the 1973 Roe V. Wade decision guarantees that women in conservative states will no longer have the right to receive a safe and legal abortion. In banning abortions, these states will only succeed in fostering more unsafe abortions, and hence a greater number of female deaths. The Supreme Court’s recent decision to overrule Roe V. Wade will ultimately only exacerbate the issues of womens’ mental and physical health across the nation, inevitably endangering the lives of millions of American women.
Preventing a woman’s right to an abortion does not abstain women from recieving abortions; it only increases the rate of women undergoing their own makeshift abortions. Not only can these makeshift abortions endanger the lives of women, but also the lives of the babies in which they are carrying. Many pro-lifers may argue that they do not support abortions because they believe that humans pertain a certain “value of life,” and that a fetus carries that value. Banning abortions, however, leads to many more unsafe abortions, which can result in the death of millions of women– as well as the fetuses they carries inside of them.
For a variety of different reasons, many women do not have the means to birthe and take care of a child, so banning abortions will only result in more families being unprepared to have children and henceforth, a larger number of children sent to adoption centers. According to the Turnaway Study done in 2017, women that were denied an abortion ended up struggling more significantly with their finances, health, and overall family outcomes (Psychology Today). Due to factors such as financial instability, pregnancy resulting from rape, and absent fathers, many of these women may choose to put their babies up for adoption if an abortion is not available to them. The Rethink Orphanages organization says that children raised in orphanages are more likely to become victims of violence, trafficking, and exploitation (Rethink Orphanages). The Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Roe V. Wade will ultimately force millions of women across America to birthe and raise children that they may not be ready to have, which can result in a more difficult life for the woman and the fetus that she bears inside of her.
In all, the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overrule Roe V. Wade will put the mental health and safety of millions of women in America at stake. Banning abortions in several states will endanger the lives of women who may try to perform unsafe abortions in their own homes. Forcing women to carry out their pregnancies can also lead to a greater number of children living in economic instability or orphanages, as well as harsher living conditions overall. The Supreme Court’s recent decision to overrule Roe V. Wade will hurt the lives and health of many women across the United States, and may even foreshadow further threats to women’s rights down the road.
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