Roe v Wade: How People Are Protesting Abortion Rights Around the World & Why It Matters?
Abortion
rights activists around the world were outraged when a draught opinion of a
Supreme Court judgement to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 judgement that guaranteed
the right to abortion in the United States, was leaked on May 3.
Experts
estimate that if the Supreme Court strikes down abortion laws, at least 26 US
states will criminalise the procedure. However, as many human rights activists
and campaigners have pointed out, making abortion illegal does not prevent
abortions from occurring; rather, it makes them riskier for those seeking them.
Criminalizing
abortion would disproportionately harm poor and vulnerable women and girls in
the United States, as it does in other areas of the world, where 25 million
women turn to dangerous and unsafe techniques each year.
Safe
and legal abortion access for women, girls, and non-binary individuals around
the world is also critical to ending extreme poverty and achieving the Global
Goals — women already make up the majority of the world's poor, and the
consequences of unintended pregnancies can be devastating. Women are being
prevented from furthering their education and jobs, which has a negative impact
on their income. It saves lives, promotes health, increases education, and
creates prosperity when women have the power to choose their own future and
when they have children.
Since
the paper was released, hundreds of thousands of people have marched to the
streets across the United States to protest the probable repeal of the landmark
law.
The
shockwaves, however, did not stop at the US border. Pro-choice activists around
the world have warned that overturning Roe v. Wade will not only mean the end
of abortion as a legal right in the United States but will also promote
anti-choice movements around the world, particularly in developing nations. Activists
worried that this would be a "catastrophe" for women in low- and
middle-income countries and that it would "send a really obvious
message" of inspiration to anti-choice forces.
Here
are some examples of how activists, allies, advocates, and everyday people are
utilising their voices to educate, empower, and promote abortion rights as an
important part of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
A
massive green banner with the words "Abortion = Liberty" was draped
beneath the Statue of Liberty on May 12. "Our fight does not end after Roe
v. Wade is decided," said the unidentified group behind the action, which
is made up of "individuals who believe the human right to abortion is
liberty." It will continue until everyone has access to abortions whenever
and wherever they are required."
Kenneth
Buyinza, a doctor from Kampala,
"I'm
sure the pro-life and anti-choice movements in [Uganda] are hoping and praying
that Roe v. Wade is overturned." If that occurs, I'm confident it will be
the most significant triumph the anti-choice movement has ever had. "I'm
sure they'll utilise it to counteract the work and gains we believed we'd
registered," Buyinza said.
Abortion
is permitted in Uganda under certain conditions, although it is heavily
regulated and plagued by stigma and misinformation. According to 2010
ministry of health data, unsafe abortion was responsible for around 8% of all
maternal fatalities in the country.
In
Chicago, US
On
Saturday, May 14, 2022, in Chicago, US public artist Jacqueline Von Edelbe
holds a sign alongside other abortion-rights activists who took to the streets.
In the face of an impending Supreme Court decision that could eliminate women's
right to abortion, demonstrators are gathering from coast to coast.
New
York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
"[The
court] isn't just coming for abortion — they're going for the right to privacy
Roe rests on, which encompasses gay marriage and civil rights," New York
politician AOC said.
Indeed,
legal experts for LGBTQ+ people fear the draught judgement jeopardises key
civil rights legislation, such as the ruling that granted Americans the right
to same-sex partnerships and marriage equality.
Seattle,
Washington, United States of America
Auriea
Moore listens to speakers at an abortion rights protest and rally in Seattle on
Saturday, May 14, 2022. In the face of an impending Supreme Court decision that
could eliminate women's right to abortion, demonstrators are gathering from
coast to coast.
Melinda
French Gates, Global Advocate for Women and Girls
Following
the leak, Melinda French Gates, a philanthropist and global advocate for women
and girls issued a statement that read: "Throughout history, women have
been robbed of the power to control their own lives, economic resources, and
health." Restricting women's access to reproductive health care across the
country would perpetuate this deadly and inequitable cycle. It saves lives,
promotes health, increases education, and fosters prosperity when women have
the power to choose their own future and when they have children."
Speaker
of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is a Democrat.
The
Democratic House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, spearheaded the charge against the
Supreme Court's latest abortion decision, calling it "an abomination"
and "one of the darkest and most damaging verdicts in modern
history."
Cincinnati,
Ohio, United States
MSI
Reproductive Choices' Head of Advocacy, Sarah Shaw
Another
major concern for advocates, according to Sarah Shaw, is that the move could
have a "chilling effect" on African governments' commitment to
abortion provisions and other reproductive rights, making them "think
twice about what they spend money on" in countries that rely heavily on US
aid for public health programmes.
On
Saturday, May 14, 2022, an abortion-rights protester, who did not want to be
identified, chants as she marches through San Francisco's Mission District.
MSI
Reproductive Choices Ethiopia Country Director Abebe Shibru
"If
Roe v. Wade is overturned, it will be a success for anti-choice organisations
that fund African resistance and a disaster for us." It has the potential
to influence policymakers, implying that women will continue to die in Africa.
"Whatever we've won may be lost," Shibru added.