95bFM Millions in the US have lost their constitutional right to abortion, what's next?
28 June, 2022
By Emilia Sullivan
Spokesperson for Abortion Rights Aotearoa, Ella Shepherd, argues that the ultimate goal of the conservative movement is complete power over women's rights and bodily autonomy. Art: Bailey Fleming.
Content warning: this story mentions rape and sexual assault.
On Saturday, the US Supreme Court released its opinion on the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organisation.
The court held that the US constitution does not confer any right to abortion, thus overruling the long-standing Roe v Wade.
The US now joins Poland, El Salvador, and Nicaragua in recent reversals of abortion rights.
13 US states have trigger laws that will ban abortion outright within 30 days, and at least 26 states in total are expected to introduce strict restrictions surrounding the procedure.
Even in the states with exceptions for rape or incest, those seeking an abortion will face many challenges.
To obtain an abortion in the instance of rape, laws require the victims to have reported it.
More than two out of three sexual assaults go unreported, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, the largest anti-sexual assault organisation in the United States.
For those seeking incest exceptions, there are additional obstacles.
Victims of incest are often minors whose abusers are family members, and some states require parental permission to get an abortion.
Current penalties for abortion providers in abortion-restricted states range from two years to life imprisonment in Alabama.
There are currently no laws in effect that allow a pregnant patient to be prosecuted. However, some who have ended their pregnancy have been charged with fetal homicide under state laws.
In response to the overturning of Roe v Wade, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that a ban will not reduce abortion but make the procedure more dangerous, especially for the poor and marginalised.
Ocasio-Cortez argued that the ban was not about life but about conservatives seizing power and control.
"Universal healthcare and childcare, gun safety, combating climate change. The GOP opposes it all. If they refuse to support life after birth, how can they claim to believe in it before?"
"People will die because of this decision. And we will never stop until abortion rights are restored in the United States of America."
The decision comes after years of conservatives consolidating power within the country's highest judicial body.
Since 2016, Republicans have appointed three justices to the Supreme Court, who all affirmed Roe v Wade was settled law in their confirmation hearings.
Ella Shepherd, spokesperson for Abortion Rights Aotearoa (ALRANZ), told Emilia Sullivan on 95bFM's The Wire that the ultimate goal of the conservative movement is complete power over women's rights and bodily autonomy.
Shepherd said this ruling is a devastating blow to modern privacy rights in the US, guaranteed by the 14th amendment.
"This won't be the end. We will see the overturn of rights like access to contraception, interracial relationships, and gay marriage."
In his concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas stated that the Supreme Court should also "reconsider" other rulings based on the principle of substantive due process, which allows courts to protect certain rights, even if those rights are not explicitly in the Constitution.
The rulings Justice Thomas has called to be reviewed include Griswold v Connecticut, which established the right of married couples to use contraception, and Lawrence v Texas and Obergefell v Hodges which protect same-sex relationships and marriage equality.
US President Joe Biden responded that this decision threatens the broader right to privacy for everyone.
"Roe recognised the fundamental right to privacy and served as a basis for so many more rights that we've come to take for granted and are ingrained in the fabric of this country."
Since the ruling, National Party leader Christopher Luxon assured that abortion laws would not be relitigated or revisited under a future National government.
However, Luxon has previously stated his 'pro-life' position, likening abortion to murder.
National MP Simon O'Connor posted "today is a good day" on social media after the Supreme Court overruled the right to abortion.
Luxon said the post by O'Connor was taken down because it was causing distress and did not represent the position of the National Party.
But Shepherd argued that there are other threats to abortion access in Aotearoa beyond overturning it.
"Blocking funding, safe areas that need to be implemented with a minister's approval, all that regulatory or executive work that doesn't have to go through parliament are at risk if those in charge don't support reproductive justice."
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