On the 24th June 2022 the Supreme Court in the United States of America overturned Roe v Wade. The outrage was soon to follow, with pro-choice protesters appearing en masse outside the federal court. In the days after, marches and protests took place across the globe. People took to the streets to rally against the unpopular ruling, which determined American women’s ability to exercise bodily autonomy and were stripped of their freedom to choose to terminate a pregnancy.
Roe v Wade has been subjected to contempt by many on the right since its inception; but a more recent case, Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, saw the US Supreme Court commence in debate on abortion’s constitutionality. The court saw a shift in ideology in recent years, with the appointment of Amy Cohen Carret and Brett Kavanagh during the Trump administration. This, paired with a case that sought to overrule Mississippi’s strict control over abortion beyond 15 weeks, allowed the Supreme Court to use Dobbs v Jackson as a catalyst for overturning Roe v Wade. The decision to strip pregnant people of their choice did not occur as a result of societal shift, but stemmed from the want to exercise conservative power over the vulnerable; 57% of American’s support the right to abortion under any circumstance.
The political debate surrounding abortion rights has never been about the lives of children. It has always been about controlling women and AFAB people’s bodily autonomy and restricting the choice they can make about their body, their family and their futures. The rhetoric used by anti-abortion protesters often focuses on the family unit and protecting children, however this argument is laughable coming from a country where school shootings occur on a regular basis and the current baby formula shortage that puts many baby’s and parents in a vulnerable state, could have been largely avoided. What will become of the children from forced pregnancies in a country that appears to hold their life in higher regard before they existed outside of the womb?
Abortions will not, and do not disappear once they are made illegal. It is a decision made by governments, to turn their backs on vulnerable citizens in a time of need. What changes is the ability to access abortions, which becomes a muddled path of unsafe and stress-inducing obstacles, that pregnant people must now navigate covertly. A glance into the before, to time of back-street abortion care and stories of struggling women determined to end their pregnancies would cause anyone to shudder with remorse.
Of course, due to the United States’ political system, this ruling is like no other. Whilst we have seen other countries in the political north (like Poland) pull back on abortion access, it’s difficult to digest that this has happened in a country which previously flaunted the rights of its citizens, if only to distinguish itself from global enemies. Yet, the arguments from the anti-abortion protesters ring with a familiar tone. As many in the UK look on in fear at what has happened in the United States, many don’t know that these issues can be felt a lot closer to home. In Northern Ireland, many still struggle to this day to access abortion safely, locally and freely.
Abortion was legalised in Northern Ireland in 2019, in absence of the Northern Irish Assembly, when MPs in parliament voted to change the abortion laws for Northern Ireland. The rest of the UK gained abortion access in 1967, however this act did not extend to Northern Ireland. For decades, women were forced to travel to England to access abortions, however those that couldn’t afford the journey were put in an even more vulnerable situation, as many attempted at home abortions. The current Minister of Health continues to face scrutiny as no services have been put in place for the people of Northern Ireland to access abortion; through the COVID Pandemic, the advice given to pregnant people remained the same – to travel to England to access abortion.
In equating the current situation in America to that in Northern Ireland, I don’t want to overlook the blistering differences in circumstance. These are two very different countries, with different populations, politics and people. Delegitimising abortion care will always result in classism, where the poorest and most vulnerable will suffer. The United States political system is at ends with the system in Northern Ireland. Context is different too. A lot of anti-abortion arguments are rooted in religious morality in both countries, Northern Ireland’s struggle to gain abortion access is stepped in a long and at times brutal history. Up until the 1990s, institutions known as ‘Mother and Baby’ homes took young, vulnerable and unmarried women in to shield them from society whilst they were forced to carry out their pregnancies. These institutions were often operated in connection with the Church, and current enquiries into mass graves and abuse in these institutions is still ongoing. During the Repeal the 8th movement (which aimed to grant abortion access for the Republic of Ireland) and the successor Now the North movement, women shared the stories of their own abortions. Many of the stories detailed the struggle to not only terminate their pregnancies but also dealing with living in a country which ignored abortions and refuted any care for pregnant vulnerable women. During my teenage years and throughout university, I constantly worried about falling pregnant, as many women do, but with the added worry of knowing that I would face hindrances in accessing abortion and dealing with the fall out.
As Northern Ireland grapples to gain access to safe, legal and local abortion care, the United States is undergoing a reversal of rights, in which the future remains unclear. The weight of a large global power rescinding rights sets a murky political precedent for the rest of the world, and feels like a slap in the face for those just on the precipice of attaining abortion rights. Regardless of how abortion has become caught up in the political web, the reality is that abortions will continue to happen, only now they will be unsafe and illegal for many.
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