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The Supreme Court of the United States of America recently overturned the law that gave millions of women the right to abort unwanted pregnancies. The landmark case of Roe Vs Wade was ruled in the year 1973. The ruling ensured that women could access the right to abortion as per their will and convenience. After 50 years, the women of America lost a basic right to avail this healthcare. The law passed in 1973 stated that a woman could have an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy, but, in the second trimester, the government had imposed some rules and it was banned during the last trimester. But, if doctors certify that a woman should undergo an abortion in the last trimester due to health complications, the government shall allow it. Speaking on this subject, Vithika Yadav, Campaign Advisory Group Member, Pratigya Campaign for Gender Equality and Safe Abortion says, "Laws that deny access to abortion, whatever their stated objectives, discriminate and undermine women's capacity to make decisions about their bodies and their lives. The unwillingness to allow women to make decisions about their own bodies coincides with the tendency to deny women decision-making roles in the areas of political, economic, social, and cultural affairs."
Women in the US no longer have the constitutional right to abortion. Their rights are solely dependent on the state's decisions to implement the ban or not. Thirteen states have already implemented the ban and passed the restrictions on abortion rights. Expressing her dismay at the new developments, Dr Kalpana Apte, Secretary General, FPA India & CAG member for Pratigya Campaign says, "Roe Vs Wade enabled countless women in USA to access safe abortions. It's a travesty of justice that the Supreme Court of USA has struck down the very tenet of reproductive rights ensuring choice and bodily integrity. This regressive decision in a developed country is especially worrisome as it might impact women's right to safe abortions in other countries."
Women's reproductive health forms an integral part of their overall health. An important part of a woman's life involves taking care of their reproductive health. Reproductive health has a direct impact on their overall health. Only, access to proper healthcare can ensure a proper reproductive health for women. This includes the right to safe abortion. Abortion is still considered a taboo in many parts of the world and is not legal yet. This leads to unwanted pregnancies, miscarriages and other serious long term health impacts on women. If abortion is not legally permitted and, therefore, not performed in the medically correct way, then women often resort to unsafe means. This has equal long term negative impacts on their health. Abortion is a complicated procedure and if is not done in a proper manner, it could cause major psychological and physical stress.
Soon after the ruling, several activists and lawyers were vocal about their apprehensions and dismay at the developments. Debanjana Choudhuri, climate and gender specialist said, "We oppose the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn the groundbreaking Roe v. Wade ruling, which recognizes and legalizes women's constitutional right to abortion nationwide. This move is deeply concerning as it could encourage regressive thinking in society and condemn India's reproductive health measures. This is a major obstacle to the movement that protects women's rights to sexual and reproductive health." She went on to say that "given the global influence of the United States, this can stigmatize reproductive health. This is an attack on women's rights to decide, their right on their bodies and should be of concern to everyone around the world. In India, there is a law that makes abortion safe and legal for up to 20 weeks, but a system is needed to do this properly. Unsafe abortion remains the second leading cause of maternal mortality in our country, indicating that the law is inadequate."
Dr Suchitra Dalvie, Asia Safe Abortion Partnership & CAG member of Pratigya Campaign said, "The US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe V Wade is a travesty of freedom, justice, autonomy and agency. Almost 30 years after the ICPD was held in Cairo in 1994 and representatives of over a 100 governments and women's rights groups agreed to support individual sexual and reproductive rights, it's an unacceptable backwards turn. This is going to result in unspeakable trauma and deaths for women and girls and transmen. As always those most affected by it will be people of colour, the poor, those living with disabilities."
Health risks associated with unsafe abortion include:
There are major mental and physical impacts of an unwanted and unplanned pregnancy with no scope of abortion.