Abortion ruling could undo more freedoms
WASHINGTON: Whenever the Supreme Court hands down its final ruling in this year’s blockbuster challenge to Roe v Wade, the bulk of the decision will be focused on interpreting what the Constitution says — or doesn’t say — about abortion.
But lurking just below the surface of that already fraught debate are questions about other rights experts say could be implicated if the high court overturns its landmark Roe decision, including access to contraception and the legality of samesex marriage.
The potential for impact beyond abortion flashed to the forefront on Tuesday after a draft opinion overturning Roe was leaked and published by Politico. Reacting to the draft, which was later authenticated by the high court, President Joe Biden said that a ‘‘whole range of rights’’ beyond abortion were in question if the justices overturned Roe v Wade. ‘‘It’s a fundamental shift in American jurisprudence.’’
The legal principles that the Supreme Court said in 1973 are the basis for the constitutional right to abortion are the same ones it relied on to recognise other rights not explicitly noted in the Constitution but understood by many to exist.
In the 26 states poised to either restrict or outlaw abortions if Roe v Wade is overturned this summer, the number of pregnancyrelated maternal deaths could rise 20% or more, according to some calculations.
In the US, about 700 women die each year either during pregnancy, during delivery or soon afterward, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
‘‘Denying people abortions increases deaths because staying pregnant is more dangerous than having an abortion,’’ said Amanda Stevenson, a sociology professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
In a paper published last year, Stevenson analysed the risk of dying from an abortion versus the risk of dying from pregnancy, delivery or postpartum issues such as preeclampsia.
She then compared what death rates would look like if the US were to enact a total abortion ban and found that 140 more deaths could result because of more pregnancies being carried to term.
The death rates for women who want an abortion but are unable to access one are likely to be even higher than for wanted pregnancies, Stevenson said.
‘‘People with resources are more likely to make it out of state or find out about medication abortions,’’ she said. ‘‘People who can’t are more likely to have health issues, to live in poverty and have less access to resources.’’
That will especially impact people of colour, she said.
There also likely will be an additional increase in deaths due to unsafe abortions or attempted abortions, said Dr
Ana Langer, from the Harvard School of Public Health. — TCA