Despite the blazing sun and midday heat, protesters lined the streets alongside Keiner Plaza in St. Louis on May 14, 2022. Many of them were holding signs which featured phrases such as “Bans Off Our Bodies, “Every Woman’s Voice and Choice,” and “Stop Abortion Bans.” Only a few years prior, there was another protest nearby following a 2019 law that Missouri was attempting to pass to outlaw abortion after 8 weeks. Though the right to have an abortion has been a heavily debated topic for the last several years, prompting many various protests across the country both in support and opposition, this protest was different. There was a newfound sense of urgency.
This urgency was created as a response to a Supreme Court of the United States draft opinion that was leaked on May 3, 2022, stating that SCOTUS was likely to overturn the infamous Roe v. Wade decision from 1973 - a ruling often noted as legalizing abortion in the United States. The ruling has been under threat from conservative politicians for decades, but now the threat is becoming real. This is especially true in the state of Missouri, a state where politicians have prided themselves on turning the state into one of the most “Pro-Life” states in America.
The History of the Attitudes towards Abortion in America
Abortion wasn’t always such a scandlous topic in the United States. In fact, it has been a practice since our country’s origins and earlier. For instance, many Native American tribes in the 1600s knew how to perform abortions using tools like black root and cedar root. After the colonists arrived, the legality of the treatment was dependent upon the type of settler. In Spanish colonies, abortion was deemed illegal, and though abortion was considered illegal in the French colonies, it was still often performed. However, those in the British colonies were allowed to receive an abortion as long as it was before the “quickening” stage (where fetal movement is protected). Once our country gained its independence, states didn’t even try to pass anti-abortion laws until the 1860s. Even then, these laws were weakly written and were extremely difficult to enforce. There were some stronger laws passed post-1860s, but women still continued to to utilize underground abortion services until the passage of Roe v. Wade in 1973.
So what changed? Well, when looking back on the history of the Religious Right (otherwise known as the Moral Majority), it was never originally about abortion. The conservative movement began largely in response to the court ruling of the case Green v. Kennedy which was in trial from 1969 to 1970. This case was in response to new all-white private schools earning a tax exemption from the federal government despite the ruling of the infamous Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. The Green v. Kennedy ruling stated that schools with segregated facilities could not earn a tax exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code, drawing the attention of Evangelical leaders such as Jerry Falwell and Paul Weyrich as private segregated Christian schools started to be investigated. Following the rescinding of Bob Jones University, a fundamental Christian University’s, tax exempt status in 1976, the Evangelical leaders began feeling thretened at the realization of what government interference could mean in Evangelical institutions across the country. Thus, they needed a force to unite the religiously devout towards conservative candidates. Realizing that more people than just Roman Catholics were becoming upset with the increase in abortions following the passage of Roe v. Wade, they decided to bank on that to get more conservatives in office. Since then, abortion has become a polarizing topic in the political scene.
Roe v. Wade and Missouri
Many relate Roe v. Wade to solely abortion. However AP Government teacher Mr. Nicholas Beckmann clarifies that Roe v Wade is more than abortion rights and is only a part of what the court case means for the rights of women.
“Roe v. Wade was a 7-2 decision that stated a woman has a fundamental right to privacy based on the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Part of this privacy was the right to have an abortion,” Mr. Beckmann said. “But that right is not absolute, as the court stated that there comes a time where health of the mother and of the unborn come into play. It’s one of the most controversial and significant cases the court has ever had.”
Mr. Beckmann goes on to say that if Roe is overturned the choice to allow abortions and other services that involve conception would be up to each state. He includes that some states even have trigger laws that will go into effect if it is overturned, Missouri being one of the states.
“The immediate effects of overturning Roe would be that abortion would move to the individual state. Now, some states (Missouri is one) have trigger laws that would outlaw abortion as soon as Roe is overturned. So many people seeking an abortion would have to go to a state where abortion is allowed,” Mr. Beckmann said.
It is no surprise that Missouri is a pro-life state. For years, politicians have been making efforts to limit access to abortion care.
In 2019, legislators attempted to pass HB 126 aka “Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act” which was written to make abortion at eight weeks illegal, even in cases of rape and incest, as well as abortion after a Down’s Syndrome diagnosis. However, in a turn of events, the bill was blocked by a federal judge the day before it was enacted. Although this bill was blocked, this led to the formation of a trigger law that would be put into action if Roe v. Wade is overturned. This trigger law means that if Roe is overturned abortions and abortifacients would become illegal and the autonomous rights of women would be restricted.
However getting an abortion in Missouri is already difficult as is. According to a report released by the Guttmacher Institute, Missouri does not have many abortion clinics even with Roe v Wade still in action.
“In 2017, some 97% of Missouri counties had no clinics that provided abortions, and 78% of Missouri women lived in those counties.”
Currently as of now there is only one abortion clinic in the entire state of Missouri. This clinic is a Planned Parenthood in St. Louis and even then the process to get an abortion is also highly difficult due to legal obstacles legislators put in place.
But the pressing question remains.
What does that mean for Missourians?
According to law professor Marcia McCormick who helped decipher the legal situation on STL NPR Radio warns that language in laws can be vague and up to interpretation.
“We have this perception about what's legal that law enforcement and prosecutors sometimes expand upon,” McCormick said.
This could lead to legal situations where it will be difficult to decipher where the line is drawn. McCormick further mentions how the language in Missouri’s law can open up more attacks on women's reproductive care past abortion. The articles says McCormick “suggested that some parts of the IVF process and emergency contraception could both come under attack due to the language in the Missouri law.”
Although abortion will be indefinitely banned if Roe v Wade is overturned, the rest of the topics under the umbrella of women’s rights will be up in the air until legislators decide what else would be illegal regarding preserving the fetuses lives immediately after conception.
How Spartans Feel About Overturning Roe v. Wade
Opinions on the leaked decision vary across the nation and within the walls of FHC. A poll conducted on our Instagram found that 76% of Spartans oppose overturning Roe v. Wade. There are strong beliefs in both camps. Freshman Ava Drury and junior Mariah Boles both consider themselves pro-choice and are opposed to overturning Roe v. Wade.
Drury belives that getting an abortion should be a choice made by the pregnant person, not by the government.
“I just personally believe that the government shouldn’t fully have control over women’s bodies,” Drury said. “I believe they should have the choice.”
Some pro-choice individuals, like Drury, believe that the pro-life label isn’t accurate.
“I think pro-lifers are actually pro-birth rather than pro-life,” Drury said. “If they were pro-life, they wouldn’t be restricting the rights of women’s bodies because women can die from not getting an abortion with ectopic pregnancies.”
Boles shares a similar belief, especially when it comes to the lives of children.
“It’s taking away women’s rights rather than caring for children because if they did really care for the children they would help the children in foster care systems and disabled communities,” Boles said.
When considering the effects of overturning Roe v. Wade, Boles’s biggest fear centers around women seeking out unsafe illegal abortions.
“It could result in a lot of women and young girls [getting] abortions in very unsafe ways,” Boles said.
Drury is concerned about contraceptive methods being banned in Missouri, especially considering the language of Missouri’s trigger law.
“If Roe v. Wade is overturned, I worry that they also might move to banning certain contraceptives like IUDs or birth control pills which would be absolutely horrible because then it would increase more unwanted pregnancies and therefore more unsafe abortions,” Drury said.
Junior Elias Salem and freshman Jonah Wilhite exist at the other end of the spectrum, for they consider themselves to be pro-life. Both of their beliefs are heavily influenced by their Christian faith.
“I'm very strong in my faith. I'm a Christian. I believe life begins at conception,” Salem said.
Although his faith is important to him, Wilhite beliefs extend farther than the scope of religion.
“I'm a Christian, [but] I also believe that there are plenty of pro-life arguments that don't have to come from any type of religion,” Wilhite said.
Wilhite addresses some of the misconceptions about being pro-life.
“I think what a lot of people don't understand about the pro-life movement is that we're not just about supporting unborn children,” Wilhite said. “We're also about supporting both the unborn child and the mother as well.”
While Wilhite supports overturning Roe v. Wade, Salem is on the fence.
“I'm torn because I believe that life begins at conception and in almost all cases. I believe abortion is not the answer, but Roe v. Wade helps a lot of other things, not just abortion,” Salem said. “It helps cancer screenings for women and all sorts of other things that help women in a lot of different ways.”
Though there are stark differences between pro-choice and pro-life stances, it is not uncommon for individuals to switch sides. Junior Marygrace Cummings used to be pro-life, but now considers herself pro-choice. Her previous beliefs were shaped heavily by her family and her Catholic faith.
“I was super pro-life, no exceptions for anything…it was my religious belief. It was what I was always taught,” Cummings said.
When a close friend of Cummings got pregnant, her stance changed. Witnessing the stress of deciding whether or not to get an abortion caused Cummings to reconsider her stance.
“I, personally, if I got pregnant, I would keep the baby, but that really put it into perspective,” Cummings said. “I would not want to force a woman [to keep the baby].”
Cummings began to put herself into other people’s shoes. Thinking about victims of sexual assault was powerful for her.
“I’ve recently become more aware of rape and sexual assault…and I can’t imagine ever having to keep a baby that was a product of that,” Cummings said.
Cummings believes that supporting Roe v. Wade should not be political, for she thinks overturning it could have disastrous effects.
“[Roe v. Wade is] the gateway. I think once that happens, who knows what can be overturned,” Cummings said.
See What the Rest of America Thinks about Abortion
Helping Out
Though all of the news about Roe v. Wade may cause feelings of hopelessness, there are ways to help support causes and organizations which will help women, no matter which side of the debate you are on.
If you lean more Pro-Choice and are interested in supporting or donating to an organization to help protect women’s reproductive rights if Roe v. Wade gets overturned, check out some of the links below.
Additionally, make sure to call or email your senators and tell them to take action to protect Roe v. Wade, support and pass laws and bills that protect the rights that Roe v. Wade upholds and to block trigger laws that the state may try to pass if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
If you fall more on the Pro-Life spectrum when it comes to discussions of abortion and reproductive rights, there are still some actions you can take and organizations you can support that will help women in crisis who may consider abortion. Please consider checking out some of the organizations and resources below.
Additionally, contacting your senators to ask them to support the passage of laws and bills involving aid to single mothers and low-income families, universal healthcare, LGBTQ+ rights, gun control reform, mental health care and environmental protections further supports the ideas of the Pro-Life movement as well as those with crisis or unwanted pregnancies.
Sources
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Randall Balmer. “The Real Origins of the Religious Right.” POLITICO Magazine, 27 May 2014, www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133/.
“Southern Baptist Convention Resolutions on Abortion.” Www.johnstonsarchive.net, www.johnstonsarchive.net/baptist/sbcabres.html. Accessed 26 May 2022.
“Missouri’s “Trigger Law” Is Ready for Roe’s Demise. What Happens Then?” STLPR, news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2022-05-06/missouris-trigger-law-is-ready-for-roes-demise-what-happens-then. Accessed 26 May 2022.
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Biggs, M Antonia, et al. “Understanding Why Women Seek Abortions in the US.” BMC Women’s Health, vol. 13, no. 1, 5 July 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3729671/, 10.1186/1472-6874-13-29.
Zerwick, Phoebe. ““I’m a Mom, and I Had an Abortion.”” Parents, Parents, 22 June 2016, www.parents.com/parenting/i-m-a-mom-and-i-had-an-abortion/.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Abortion.” CDC, 22 Nov. 2021, www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/data_stats/abortion.htm.
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