Abortion in America is no longer just a healthcare debate—it has become one of the most politically and socially divisive issues in the country. From legislation and court rulings to healthcare access and public opinion, the conversation surrounding reproductive rights reflects larger questions about freedom, gender, and government authority.
Roe v. Wade and the Evolution of Abortion Law
Abortion has been one of the most debated issues in the U.S., especially since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. But the debate began nearly fifty years earlier, in 1973, when the Supreme Court first decided Roe v. Wade.
Today, abortion continues to be a much discussed topic that affects millions of women around the country. To understand the future, it is first important to understand the past, and in this case, the original story of Roe v. Wade.
We all know the phrase, “Roe v. Wade,” but what does it mean? In 1973, the supreme court faced a case regarding a woman—Jane Roe—who challenged a Texas law prohibiting abortions. The case recognized a woman’s constitutional right to privacy—which was protected by the 14th Amendment—which included the decision to have an abortion, therefore overruling Texas abortion laws. For decades, Roe protected abortion nationwide. That changed in 2022, when the Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe and allowed each state to set its own laws.
And that is how we have ended up in the predicament we are in today. Each state has its own political stance and beliefs about abortion, but those decisions affect all women in the state, not just those who agree with the laws.
State Restrictions and Access to Care
That being said, where you live matters and plays a huge role in a woman’s access to abortion, contraceptives, and their safety. Laws regarding abortion defer hugely from state to state. It is important to note that in California we have privileges and resources that women in other states might not have.
Take for example California vs. Texas. Rights depend entirely on where you live, and in California the right to abortion is constitutionally protected and legal up to the point of fetal viability—the point in which a fetus could survive outside of the womb—or when necessary to protect the mothers health or life. Contrastingly, in Texas, a near total abortion ban has been enacted. Senate Bill SB 8, prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is typically around six weeks of pregnancy. Few exceptions are allowed, and those that are heavily restricted. This comes to show the stark contrast between states, and how States can be as liberal as California regarding abortion, as conservative as Texas, or anywhere in between.
The Human Impact of Abortion Restrictions
This is why many people in the US are being forced to travel to receive care. Citizens are traveling sometimes hundreds of miles, across state lines to gain access to abortion. While we do have a constitutional right to travel, some states like Idaho and Tennessee have enacted “Abortion Trafficking” laws, which is where states will penalize people who help others travel for abortion care.
In addition, many states have laws on abortion based on how far along a woman is, resulting in even more movement when traveling for an abortion. Despite these laws, 1 in 5 people travel for abortion care as of 2023, which is up from 1 in 10 people in 2020. This comes to show that despite restrictions, more Americans are traveling now more than ever to receive abortion care, whether we agree with their choice or not.
Medical Emergencies and Delayed Care
In emergency situations, women are still being denied care in some states. A 31 year old South Carolina Resident, Elisabeth Weber, was denied an abortion due to “the heart beat bill,”—an abortion ban at 6 weeks, when a fetus’s heartbeat can usually be detected—even though her very wanted baby did not have a heartbeat. Weber remarks, “I can’t believe that I’m being forced to carry around my dead baby. They know it’s gone, they know it’s dead, they know it’s stopped developing, and now I’m being forced to carry it … there’s really no feeling like when your womb becomes a tomb.”
Another account shows an 18 year old Texas Resident, Candace Fails, dying after being diagnosed with sepsis, a life-threatening and fast-moving reaction to an infection related to pregnancy. Fails could have been saved, but Texas abortion laws prohibit an abortion if a fetus has a viable heartbeat.
This leaves us with the national question and dilemma of who should be saved: Mother or fetus? If Fails were to have an abortion, she might have lived, but because of Texas laws, she is no longer with us today.
Another statement follows a 35 year old Texas Resident, Porsha Ngumezi, who was denied a dilation and curettage to stop her extensive amounts of bleeding after miscarrying at 11 months. Instead, the ER doctors gave her a pill that was within lawful limits; yet she died hours later. ProRepublica states, “The 35-year-old’s death was preventable, according to more than a dozen doctors who reviewed a detailed summary of her case for ProPublica. Some said it raises serious questions about how abortion bans are pressuring doctors to diverge from the standard of care and reach for less-effective options that could expose their patients to more risks. Doctors and patients described similar decisions they’ve witnessed across the state.” It is important to note that all of these women wanted their pregnancies, and only asked for abortion care on the basis of a life threatening emergency.
Abortion as a Political Issue
It is vital to understand the impact that this disagreement has on our country and politics because it affects voting, leadership, and community. Many politicians mistakenly suspect that the topic of abortion won’t draw many votes when showing up on a ballot, but according to CNN exit polls, in the 2022 Midterm elections, abortion ranked a close second to inflation in numerous states.
In addition, a Brookings metro graph shows that consistently, women vote more than men, and when it comes to a topic that heavily affects women—like abortion—it increases the voting turnout. Hillary Clinton once stated, “It turns out women enjoy having human rights, and we vote.” An article writes, “90% of U.S. voters consistently vote the same way regardless of what issues they tell pollsters they care about.”
However, the topic of abortion has changed this dynamic. Americans favor making abortion legal, about 60% vs. 40%, which has swayed a large number of citizens to switch political parties, and give the Democratic party a small lead. These statistics are based in 2022, but it still shows the impact that abortion has on U.S politics, and how it has the power to determine entire elections.
Why This Conversation Matters
Ultimately, abortion today affects laws, healthcare, travel, and politics, and plays a huge role in the lives of everybody, but especially women. It is vital to understand the facts of the matter, regardless of if one chooses to take a side or not. Education plays a huge role in this issue, and knowing what is going on helps people understand our country better today. At the very least, cut women some slack; their bodies were never meant to be the stage for national politics.