Roe v Wade is a landmark decision, meaning a change in interpretation of an already existing law in the United States. In 1973, US Supreme Court ruled that Constitution of United States protects a pregnant women’s rights to have an abortion. The decision of the US Supreme Court overlapped with many laws of different federal states and originated an abortion debate. Ongoing debates are about who should decide whether or not abortion is legal and also moral and religious opinions on abortion.
First, in 1973, the court ruled that pregnant women were free to have an abortion in the first three months, the trimester, of their pregnancy. Recently, the court overruled the previous decision and made it possible for federal states to ban the right for abortion. This news not only made confusions between states’ laws, it started protests between two sides, pro-choice and pro-life supporters, pro-choice supporters are on the side of choosing abortion is a women’s right and pro-life supporters agree that baby’s life should be under control of laws until the child is born. In total, 20 states are now in action to pass the law to overturn Roe v Wade decisions. All states allow abortion when mother’s life is in danger, lots allow when mother is destined to have serious injuries, some allow if it is before the first 6 weeks of pregnancy and if the pregnancy is noted with official report including rape or incest.
Pew Research Center conducted a poll in March 2022; 61% of Americans agree that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, yet the percentage of agreed people decreases sharply when it comes to allowing abortion after the first trimester of the pregnancy. Many different opinions are visible in a protest area; an interview included a man saying “It's incredibly exciting, if I was a baby in a womb, I would want someone to stand up for me,” yet there is a sign nearby written "Forced birth is enslavement."
Protests about for and against have been peaceful, with some exceptions, a few arrests have been reported. An actress, Jodi Sweetin, was pushed to the ground by a police officer. Sweetin got up from the ground and continued protesting, shouting “No justice, no peace,” according to a photojournalist. Along with that, in New York, at least 20 people were reported to be taken into custody and have charges pressed against them. In Greenville, 6 people got arrested, where rally included both pro-life and pro-choice supporters. In Virginia, police are investigating a vandalism case at a pregnancy center, a line written with spray paint says “If abortion ain't safe you ain't safe.” Democratic officials in Republican controlled states are taking actions to protest after their states canceled abortion laws; they reported they will fight with every power they have. More than half of the Americans are against the overturn of Roe v Wade, but still the other half is fighting in order to actualize the overturn. Abortion debates have been going on for nearly a month now, and after many states took action to overturn the decision, the debates heated up more than ever; still many people hope that protests will be peaceful, as some examples of it are visible. Protests and rallies seem to continue for at least a month, and surely Roe v Wade will be discussed more than ever during protests.
Work Cited:
“Roe v Wade”, Wikipedia, 29 June 2022,
Levinson-King, Robin. Kim, Chloe. Sargeant, Paul. “Abortion: What does overturn of Roe v Wade mean?”, BBC News, 28 June 2022,
“Roe v Wade: US women divided on abortion ruling”, BBC News, 7 June 2022,
McCleary, Kelly. “Protests spread across the US after the Supreme Court overturns the constitutional right to abortion”, CNN, 28 June 2022,