Roe Was Meant to be the Floor, not the Ceiling

It’s been 37 years since the Supreme Court ruled
that a woman had a constitutional right to obtain an abortion, and not
a day has gone by that someone, somewhere attempted to whittle away
women’s access to that right. While the legality of abortion seems safe
enough for the moment, the reality of accessing abortion is not
promising. In 1973, the promise of Roe v. Wade was it would give women
freedom to decide for themselves when and whether to bear children.
That promise has not been realized for many women.

In 1977, came the Hyde Amendment, a grossly unjust piece of
legislation that prohibits the use of federal funds in paying for
abortion services. This tells low-income women, women in the military,
women who work for the federal government, that they only have the
right to obtain an abortion if they can pay for it themselves.

Today, 24 states require a woman to wait, usually 24 hours, between
receiving counseling and obtaining an abortion; 17 states require women
to receive mandated counseling before obtaining an abortion (this
counseling often includes inaccurate information about links between
abortion and breast cancer, the long-term psychological impact of
abortion or includes information about fetal pain and the availability
of ultrasounds); 34 states require some form of parental involvement in
a minor’s decision to have an abortion (either through obtaining
consent or notifying one or more parent). All of these provisions are
intended to limit women’s access to abortion services.

The new health care reform, despite assurances that it would not
become a battleground for women’s reproductive health, threatens to
limit even more women’s access to abortion by placing further
restrictions on who can and cannot obtain abortions and how they will
be paid for.

Today, 87% of counties have no abortion provider, 25% of women have
to travel more than 50 miles to obtain an abortion. The number of
abortion providers around the country is declining, in part because
fewer medical schools teach the procedure, and partly because being an
abortion provider can be a very risky business. By a somewhat ironic
twist of fate, the 37th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision also
marks the start of the trial of the murderer of Dr. George Tiller.
Crueler yet, it looks as though the defense is going to be allowed to
argue that Scott Roeder believed that he was acting out of deeply held
belief that by killing George Tiller he was preventing a greater
injustice. A great man was assassinated in front of his friends and
family, because he believed that women have the right to decide the
course of their lives, because he believed -and acted on that belief-
that abortion access is fundamental to a woman’s right to
self-determination. Dr. Tiller was a man of extraordinary courage who
worked every day to ensure women had access to these rights. And the
man who killed him is going to argue that what he did was justice.

Roe may be safe, but women’s access to abortion is not. While it is
far, far preferable to keep abortion legal, we have to also recognize
that Roe was meant to be the foundation of creating reproductive
justice. Legal abortion is the minimum of what we need for women to
fully realize their rights and potential as human beings. Roe was not
ever meant to be the pinnacle of achievement for women’ rights and
women’s health. So, let’s celebrate this anniversary for what it is: a
call to action to realize reproductive justice for all women.

Repeal Hyde.

Create Health Reform that meets all women’s reproductive health needs.

Stop treating abortion as a taboo. It is a safe medical procedure that saves women’s lives.