On Monday night, May 2nd, a leaked draft opinion showed the Supreme Court is preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that secured the right for people to terminate their pregnancies across the United States. In a matter of months, many common abortion procedures could become illegal in the 22 states that have passed laws in anticipation of such a ruling. Even in states without those laws, access will likely grow more precarious as state legislatures respond. The new laws won’t stop abortions from happening; instead, they’ll force them underground, adding legal and medical risks to what was once a safe and standardized procedure.
But while criminalizing abortion will have dire consequences, it doesn’t necessarily mean a return to the dangers of 50 years ago. New pharmaceuticals have made surgical abortion less necessary, and new resources have sprung up to help people obtain and self-administer those drugs. It’s not the same experience as what you would get from Planned Parenthood or other medical providers, but it’s a far cry from the worst-case-scenario options of pre-Roe America. Instead, it’s a new kind of digital underground, with providers, volunteers, and pregnant people all taking calculated risks to stay safe in the chaotic new system.
“The future of abortion is increased knowledge about abortion pills,” says Susan Yanow, the US spokesperson for Women Help Women, an abortion access organization. “Abortion will not stop and those of us who support the right to bodily autonomy will continue to work to put these pills into the hands of those who need them.”
Source: The Verge
