A kill-shot on Roe v. Wade will unleash a whirlwind

What would an America without Roe v. Wade look like?

It’s a prospect never considered by many women.

Believe me, we’re beginning to think about it now.

Thank you very much to the conservative, mostly male politicians. These moral crusaders, overwhelmingly Republicans, are in a race to see which state can be the first to send a restrictive abortion law to the U.S. Supreme Court. The goal is to overturn the 1973 ruling that determined states could not restrict abortion before the fetus is viable.

Despite its religious and moral facade, the effort to upend Roe v. Wade is about votes in the 2020 elections. It’s not primarily about saving babies. Lower courts would have to rule first. In the meantime, just in time for the upcoming election cycle, this culture issue will be mined for every vote.

The outcome might not be as desired. What’s being missed in these political calculations are the conversations most male politicians have never been a part of.

It’s biology. Male legislators and governors have never had a period. They know nothing of the pain of endometriosis. And they most certainly haven’t felt the overbearing societal pressures on women about motherhood and fertility.

They don’t understand the sisterhood of emotions, the empathy that surrounds women’s feelings about contraception, fertility, pregnancy and birth.

A “But for the grace of God go I” acknowledgment accompanies many women’s feelings about Roe v. Wade. Most women know another who has had an abortion. And we don’t judge.

That’s because virtually every woman has felt the unease, if not outright fear, that arose when her period was late, a condom broke or they realized that a birth control dose was missed.

Most certainly, polling about Americans’ views about abortion is conflicted and vague. But speaking from anecdotal understanding, and perhaps wishful thinking, most women seem to want abortion to be safe, legal and rare. Politicians pushing for Roe v. Wade to be overturned don’t seem to be working in that direction.

If they were, you’d hear them preaching the virtues of comprehensive sex education and making contraception methods like intrauterine devices more widely available.

Realize, too, that abortion is still common, despite declining rates in recent decades. One in four women has had an abortion by the age of 45, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

The hashtag #YouKnowMe gives credence to this fact. Spurred by talk-show host Busy Philipps, women are posting about their abortions, undercutting common misperceptions as they write.

Abortion is increasingly becoming a procedure for poorer women and women of color. Wealthier and better-educated women have greater access to advancements in contraception and the ability to pay for an abortion through a private doctor, a fact sometimes not captured in statistics.

The activists and legislators going after Roe v. Wade were previously focused on enacting stricter rules that primarily affected low-income women trying to receive gynecological care from Planned Parenthood.

Women who weren’t politically active might not have paid much attention. After all, their ability to obtain contraception, or even an abortion, felt safe.

But not now. I don’t think these legislators have any idea how deeply they’ve stirred women this time, even relatively conservative women. I think they’re about to find out.