Americans must reassert women's right to legal abortions

On Jan. 22, 1973, seven Supreme Court justices paved the way for legal abortions. That day we danced in the streets, so thrilled by our new freedom. Roe v. Wade almost made it to 50 years, but the high court shut it down on June 24, 2022. This recent court ruling negated our right to choose.

Republicans or right-to-lifers always have painted the issue as black and white. You are either “pro-life” meaning “anti-abortion” or you are “pro-abortion.” But the Roe decision meant so much more to us. As Ruth Bader Ginsberg defined it, Roe meant we had bodily autonomy. We had the right to choose when we would get pregnant and when we wouldn't. It allows us to decide when to have children or to choose not to have children.

The right to an abortion and the right to choose our own destiny has been denied by this more conservative Supreme Court. We did not elect them, but their action will impact our future. In fact, a couple of them lied about protecting Roe during their Senate hearings.

Because of this abrupt change, there are now women deciding to be sterilized in their 20s. They are choosing to be sterilized, choosing never to get pregnant, because the risk of an unwanted pregnancy, with no recourse, is too great. Imagine giving up even the possibility to have children during your prime reproductive years.

It is clear women's rights must be redefined and defended with every generation. Those rights are not automatically transferred to the younger generation. My generation fought for our right to abortion and won. We celebrated the enactment of those rights. At my San Jose clinic, we were able to begin providing abortions in our offices instead of at a hospital. As a pregnancy counselor, I counseled hundreds of women, so I knew what a difference this meant. In almost half of the states, a woman no longer has the simple right to go to a clinic and have an abortion.

Our daughters grew up taking for granted that they could walk into a clinic and choose to terminate their pregnancy safely and expected to be treated with respect. My 2-year-old granddaughter will not have that right. She is too young to know that she has lost her bodily autonomy. Our generation believed that right was sacred and protected. None of us ever imagined it could be taken away. Perhaps we should have believed the pro-lifers, taken them at their word. We should have understood that they would continue to fight to deny us that right until they succeeded.

Since the June Supreme Court decision, women from states banning abortion have been forced to deal with the consequences. They have to travel to distant states, traveling hundreds of miles, risk losing their job and paying hundreds of dollars for the procedure plus their travel and lodging. All this just to have a safe and simple abortion.

In some ways the situation is worse than before Roe. Prior to

Roe, we did not criminalize the person who drove us to a clinic or a friend who referred us. Our doctors could, in most states, feel comfortable giving a woman who has miscarried a simple procedure (a D&C) to protect her health. Today that same doctor may refuse to provide such care for fear of arrest. Thus, as a result there will be women risking their lives, attempting methods at home, much as they did decades ago. If they can't afford to travel, they may resort to back alley opportunists.

Now our rights have been denied. We cannot stand for this. We must reassert our rights by enacting a national law that protects us.