Women across the United States were saddened and frightened hearing about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to officially reverse Roe v. Wade, last Friday. Now, America is deep in controversy over what to do about new rules on abortions.
Overriding 50 Years of Progress
Roe v. Wade was a constitutionally protected right, written into law at the beginning of 1973. From then until June 24th, 2022 it protected a woman’s liberty to have abortions. As a result, the responsibility for creating laws around a women’s right to choose has passed to individual state governments; triggering many of them to create and try to pass new abortion laws, and somewhere there are no exceptions for rape or incest.
Image by Gayatri Malhotra via Unsplash
Government Response from Across the Country
While leaving the decision up to the states could garner better abortion laws and programs in one state, it could completely rescind the right to get one in an understandable timeline in another. For instance, soon citizens in Mississippi will have no right to abortion after 15 weeks, except in instances to save the life of the mother, or if it’s a proven result of rape or incest.
While it may seem like a win that abortions aren’t banned completely, according to an article by the NY Times, most experts estimate fetal viability to be about 22-24 weeks. Similarly, in Florida, there is a new 15-week abortion ban set to take effect on Friday, but a judge will decide on Thursday whether to block the ban. Additionally, a judge in Louisiana just temporarily blocked three state laws that aim to ban all abortions.
Meanwhile, according to the NY Times, they are passing a law in Maryland that will make nurse and midwife-performed abortions legal. This law also requires $3.5 million dollars in annual funding for abortion training for nurses and midwives.
How to Make Your Voice Heard
The next United States gubernatorial elections will be held on November 8th, 2022. This is when you can cast your vote to decide the new governor selected for your state. There will be seats for legislators in 36 states and three territories, including Florida, Texas, New York, and California.
