The Regression of Our Rights has Already Begun
Content Warning: This discusses abortion and related themes that may be triggering. Please take care while reading.
Credit: Getty Images
On the 3rd of April 2022, the draft judgement on Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organisation, which overturned Roe v Wade was leaked. This week the Supreme Court of the United States, on the 24th of June 2022, confirmed the draft judgement, overturning 50 years of precedent established in Roe v Wade.
Protests then, and protests now
What happened in Roe v Wade, 1973?
In Roe v Wade the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution “protects a woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.” Sarah Weddington, the council for Roe, represented abortion rights and was aged twenty-six, the youngest attorney of her time to argue a case in the US Supreme Court. The decision was a turning point because it centred on bodily integrity and reproductive rights and preserved the right to safe and accessible abortions. The decision was groundbreaking, given it was from a majority republican, white and male judiciary. However, due to people’s personal beliefs, misogyny, and the wider patriarchal society we live in, abortion remains a controversial topic even 49 years on.
The 1973 judiciary, republican majority, deciding for Roe v Wade:
The most fundamental aspect of legalising abortion and of maintaining the initial Roe v Wade decision is that it upholds the accessibility to reproductive healthcare as a constitutional right. By decriminalising and legalising abortion and maintaining reproductive rights, the regulation of these medical procedures prevent vulnerable individuals from resorting to dangerous and desperate life-threatning measures. According to the World Health Organisation, unsafe abortions are a leading cause of maternal death and morbidities, yet they are entirely preventable (WHO, 2021). Approximately, 4.7% to 13.2% of maternal deaths globally each year are due to unsafe abortions.
Many are still forced into these practices, rendered choiceless by legal systems that do not prioritise their individual choices. We have a long way to go in liberalising abortion rights, but overturning Roe v Wade is a visercal step backwards. Ultimately, our stance on abortion remains clear. Bodily integrity and autonomy is a human right, therefore the right to choose must be protected.
Advertisement from Christchurch, 1896. Abortion was unregulated and advertisements for it were very coded.
A Newspaper excerpt from Dunedin, 1908. Daisy Edwards was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced for having an aboriton.
Abortion in Aotearoa
To set the scene in New Zealand, regarding abortion laws, abortion is legal but was only decriminalised and removed from the Crimes Act in 2019. Under the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, a person no longer needs a referral from a doctor, and abortions can be performed by a wider range of registered health practioners. This year, the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill passed, which allows clinics to have a safe zone, to stop anti-abortion protests which may intimidate and stop people from accessing these health services.
Although New Zealand has made recent gains in providing safer access to abortions, there is still a stigma within society and a lack of health education. The current situation in the United States gives us a wake-up call: the discourses around autonomy, and the right to access abortion are still considered political issues and not fundamental human rights which evidently need active protection.
What Can We Do?
If you would like to show solidarity and protest against the Supreme Court decision, there is a protest that is taking place in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Where? Aotea Square
When? 16th July at 1pm.
Donate:
Getting Support:
If you would like to talk to someone or gain more information regarding support and access, check out the following resources:
https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy-living/sexual-health/information-abortion
Beware of “PregnancyChoice” which is an anti-abortion propagandist.
Other Interesting Resources:
The History of Abortion in Aotearoa
Ngā manaakitanga,Women in Law, Advocacy Team.