Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the decision made in Dobbs v. Jackson in 2022, many states have heavily limited or outright banned abortion. Following the decision on April 13 in Florida to approve a six-week abortion ban, the topic of abortion bans is back in the news. Though Florida’s decision is disturbing, it is not unique. Before Florida’s extreme ban, as of April 9, 21 states have banned or restricted abortion beyond Roe v. Wade. Oppression of women’s bodies has been a prevalent and widespread issue for centuries. Anyone with a uterus is targeted by bans, and it can be life-threatening. When there is no way to terminate a pregnancy safely, people will resort to unsafe means to control their lives and bodies.
Due to these new bans, some people with uteruses who have the resources to travel to other states for an abortion can’t be tracked, so there isn’t much data on how many people have died due to these bans. But there are stories. In 2022, a 10-year-old girl in Ohio was raped and forced to go across state lines for an abortion. She was six weeks and three days pregnant. Another woman, Tara George, also from Ohio, got pregnant with her husband, but at 20 weeks, her doctor informed her that the fetus was not viable and would die once outside the womb. George risked an infection that could have ended her life if she didn’t terminate the pregnancy. But because the fetus still had a heartbeat, no doctor in Ohio would perform the abortion. In addition to the experiences of these people affected by abortion bans, a study done by the University of Colorado Boulder says that a ban across the country “would increase maternal mortality by 24%.”
Additionally, nearly 400,000 children are in the foster care system, and with abortion bans, this will only increase this number. Abortion bans are put in place in an attempt to save “lives,” but in reality, they end them. Bans will continue to increase and spread if something isn’t done to elevate the importance of the lives of people with uteruses. Abortion has always been necessary and will continue to be.
