‘Disheartening growing up during this time’
Young women reflect on likelihood of Roe v. Wade being overturned
After freezing her eggs before starting chemotherapy, Ellie Nelson, 26, of Schererville, said she knows too well the fear of weighing options as a reproductive option is at risk. She doesn’t want other woman to go through that.
Aaliyah Stewart, 21, of Merrillville and founder of the ASW Foundation, said she is pro-choice but believes politicians should be addressing other issues.
Kathryn McGrath, 19, currently studying nursing at Ive Tech Community College, said overturning Roe v. Wade won’t stop abortions, just make them riskier as women find other ways to terminate a pregnancy.
Earlier this month a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion was leaked suggesting the court is poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft opinion states. It was signed by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.
The document was labeled a “1st Draft” of the “Opinion of
the Court” in a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The court is expected to rule
on the case before its term ends in late June or early July.
A decision to overrule Roe could lead to abortion restrictions or bans in roughly half the states and have some ramifications for this year’s elections. But it’s unclear if the draft represents the court’s final word on the matter — opinions often change in ways big and small in the drafting process.
As the fate of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance, young women shared their views on the likelihood of Roe v. Wade being overturned.
Ellie Nelson
When the news of the leaked draft broke the evening of May 2, Nelson said her partner told her about the news because she had decided to stay off her phone and social media for the day. She said she’s felt fearful for women’s right to choose since hearing the news.
“I was surprised, yet not surprised, and thrown off that it’s (happening) now,” Nelson said.
Nelson, a cancer survivor, said she’s heard stories from women who were diagnosed with breast cancer early on in pregnancy and being “put in an impossible situation” of deciding between terminating the pregnancy to receive chemotherapy or delay cancer treatment to carry the pregnancy to term and risk dying of cancer.
“A person’s medical autonomy gets complicated in so many ways
ing stories and images of ourselves that taps into our primal DNA, regardless of our age, even tech-savvy toddlers.
Last weekend, my 3-year-old grandson, Landon, wandered around my wedding reception with his father’s iPhone to take candid photos of nearly every guest. Every image was taken from a child’s viewpoint, low to the ground, looking up at each subject. And every guest reacted in kind to the photographer, a young boy with a playful smile.
I was too distracted at the time to realize the bigger picture, that Landon was creating his own digital footprint to someday look back on. He will be able to see his creative handiwork, intimate photos of his loved ones and guests he never met before. (All of the photos accompanying this column were taken by Landon.)
During the reception, my stepson Bobby also added to his own digital footprint by giving a touching speech that was recorded by our wedding photographer and later posted on social media. (Watch it on my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/JerDavich/.)
Bobby didn’t intend to create something that day which he will someday watch and relive. Although he’s now 23, I guarantee Bobby will one day look back on his speech with nostalgic fondness. This is the beauty of spanned time. It enhances special moments in our lives, as if by magic.
A similar magic show is now happening for today’s generation of children. Like a proverbial rabbit out of an empty hat, these parents are capturing the best moments of their kids’ childhoods, one cherished memory at a time. After all the other birthday gifts are lost, forgotten, or gobbled down, this present will be waiting for them like a buried time capsule from their youth.
My ‘wife’ and I …
Thanks to those readers who reached out to congratulate me and my newlywed wife, Karen, on our recent wedding. Your kindness and heartfelt feelings are very much appreciated. Your jokes are appreciated too.
“Please tell your young bride that the two of you have inspired a drinking game: Take a BIG swig every time the word ‘fiancé’ appears in one of Jerry’s columns,” wrote Bill Boyden, of Ogden Dunes. “I would just laugh and my wife would search for something with which to strike you over the head. Then she would always vow to research common law unions in the state of Indiana.”
“Tonight we will raise our glasses to you two lovebirds with hopes and best wishes for many, many more happy years together,” he wrote.
Thank you. But my wife and I apologize in advance for the demise of your clever drinking game. Cheers.