In 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in an 7-2 decision that a woman had a constitutional right to abortion, a right protected by the due process clause of the Constitution. This decision, Roe v. Wade, was a victory for pro-choice advocates, but it left pro-life advocates determined to fight back. For the pro-life movement, Roe v. Wade was not a permanent decision set in stone. Its reversal was possible, and worth fighting for. Today, the overturning of Roe v. Wade is not just a distant possibility; it’s a very real option that a conservative Supreme Court could take. So how did we get here? What did Roe v. Wade do, how did it affect the right to abortion, and what would its possible overturning even mean for our community?
Back in 1969, Norma McCorvey, known pseudonymously as “Jane Roe”, attempted to get access to abortion services in the state of Texas, she found them denied to her, as abortion was illegal unless the mother’s life was in danger (state laws varied at the time, abortion was for example legal in New York state since 1970, three years before Roe). With the help of lawyers Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, McCorvey filed a lawsuit against her district attorney Henry Wade in federal court. This case was eventually appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled, in McCorvey’s favor, that laws could not restrict a woman’s right to abortion, at least in the first trimester (first three months) of pregnancy. In another decision in 1992 (Planned Parenthood v. Casey), the Supreme Court added that restrictions on abortion were allowed, as long as they didn’t place an undue burden (a burdern that is too severe or that is illegitimate) on the woman seeking abortion.
Roe v. Wade has been in effect for over 47 years now, but the nation still hasn’t come to a consensus on the decision. For a long time, pro-life movements have fought to get Roe v. Wade repealed, and now it appears that their efforts could be vindicated by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Before being confirmed to the highest court in the land in October of 2020, Barrett was part of an anti-abortion rights group, gave a lecture to her school’s pro-life club, and added her name to a statement critcizing Roe v. Wade’s “barbaric” legacy . In the past as a judge of the Seventh Circuit, she’s voted in favor of a law that required parental notification when a minor seeks abortion. Barrett did not state whether or not she’ll help overturn Roe during her confirmation hearing, but did signal that the decision could be revisited by the court. All of the evidence suggests that Justice Barrett’s vote could be the deciding vote that strikes down Roe v. Wade.
Should the Supreme Court decide upon an abortion case in the future, and should the conservative justices be united with the pro-life movement, Roe v. Wade would cease to be. But what would the Ithacan community without Roe look like? To find out, I contacted the Planned Parenthood of Greater New York regarding how recent developments in the Supreme Court could affect abortion rights in Ithaca and the rest of New York state. When asked whether or not Planned Parenthood would still be able to provide abortions in the future, the organization replied:
“It’s important to note that in 2019, New York proactively enshrined the protections of Roe v. Wade in state law with the passage of the Reproductive Health Act, making abortion care safe and legal in New York despite federal interference.”
The organization also stated that Planned Parenthood, including the Planned Parenthood Ithaca Health Center, would provide “safe, legal abortion care at health centers across the country — no matter the threats or attacks on access to care.” Their assurances aren’t naively optimistic: even if Roe v. Wade was overturned, New York’s state laws, specifically the Reproductive Health Act, means that abortion would still be a human right, at least within the confines of the state. However, this doesn’t mean that abortion won’t be criminalized in other states, and it doesn’t mean that the state laws can’t be overturned. Still, Ithacans and other New Yorkers should feel relatively secure in having the right to abortion; after all pro-lifers make up a minority in New York state, with only 34 percent of New Yorkers being pro-life, compared to 62 percent pro-choice, according to a Marist Poll. The proportion of pro-life to pro-choice is also extremely similar in the New York Assembly, the lower house of the state legislature, meaning that laws restricting abortion are unlikely to be passed anytime soon.
Justice Barrett’s appointment signals a turning point for this country no matter what happens to the right to abortion in this nation or this state. While Ithacans right now can feel secure in their right to get an abortion, we also shouldn’t get complacent. If federal laws could change so radically, there’s nothing stopping state laws from following in the same direction.