The debate began long before they were born, but now young people are joining the conversation about Abortion rights in America, which could be severely curtailed in parts of the country if the Supreme Court overturns a fifty-year-old decision on abortion. which cements its legalization at the national level.
These days, some have come out of the classrooms demanding that this right continue to be protected by the Constitution, as is the case of Harper Shaddick, organizer of the protest in favor of abortion and who explained to the voice of america that “if it is revoked, it will not only affect women who are currently pregnant but those who do so in the future.”
Last May 3, after infrequent filtration, a draft Supreme Court opinion came to light showing that a majority of the justices would favor overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade in 1973, which legalized abortion across the country.
Those who condemn abortion feel empowered by the document.
Anna Lulis of Students for Life of America told VOA that he hopes “the Supreme Court will make the right decision and cede the decision to the states.”
One of those states is Oklahoma, where lawmakers on Thursday approved a bill that bans abortion with few exceptions.
Half a dozen anti-abortion measures have already been passed in Oklahoma this year. Meanwhile, service providers across the country have been bracing for the possibility that the new conservative majority on the US Supreme Court could further restrict the practice.
Could other countries follow suit?
Since the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico in 2021, abortion is no longer a crime in that country. But only eight of 32 states in that country have taken steps to legalize it.
“What happens in the United States is teaching us that our rights are always at risk.” Said Adriana Patlán from the Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Mexico.
In Geneva, Switzerland, activists expect no repercussions, as abortion is generally allowed in Europe.
As explained to VOA Leah Hoctor, from the Center for Reproductive Rights, “Poland, Malta, Liechtenstein, Andorra (…) are the countries in Europe that still have very restrictive abortion laws.”
While South Africa legalized it in 1996, what is happening in the US worries activists.
“The more that is reversed in other countries, the more that could happen here as well,” said Whitney Chinogweny, a member of Reproductive Choices.
Despite fears, anti-abortion groups are determined to abolish it, say critics like Austin Ruse of the US-based Center for Family and Human Rights.
“Most people don’t understand how radical America’s abortion laws are,” Ruse said.
This week the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, described the possible decision of the Supreme Court as “an extreme step backwards” and considered that, “deep down”, what is at stake is “the future of the nation”.
“It’s about whether we live in a country where the government can interfere with personal decisions,” he said.
The draft opinion rejects limits on state authority in lRoe and Casey’s decisions, saying that local legislators should be the ones to decide what is legal in their state. In addition, he argues that abortion should not be considered a constitutional right protected by the right to privacy, thus overturning the 1973 decision.
In contrast, Harris believes that “the right to privacy underlying the Roe ruling is the same right to privacy that protects the right to use contraception and the right to marry the person you love, including those in the same sex”.
It is not yet known when the highest court could give its ruling, but what experts believe is that the impact could be felt far beyond the United States.
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