TW: Abortion, Rape, Sexual Assault, Incest
In 1973, a landmark decision was made by the US Supreme Court to allow a pregnant women’s choice to have an abortion without drastic government restriction -- also known as Roe v. Wade.
In May 2022, a draft was leaked, showing the US Supreme Court's idea of overturning Roe v. Wade. If this does, in fact, come into effect, abortion access for anyone who can conceive, including cases of rape or incest, would be up to each state and Congress to rule upon.
When this was announced, protests immediately began, specifically in front of SCOTUS, with demonstrators chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, Roe v. Wade has got to go!” which would then be retaliated back with “my body, my choice.”
Even if each states rules abortion legal for instances of rape, it still harmfully reinforces the belief that anyone in need of an abortion does not have autonomy to their own body, unless it’s been violated by another.
But, abortion bans are doing just that – Overturning Roe v. Wade would be violating a person’s body and forcing them to carry out a pregnancy or seek alternative, unsafe methods of abortion.
As two survivors of sexual assault, we both had people assume ownership of our bodies already and other survivors have had this experience as well. Objectively, the decision to overturn Row v. Wade is not really about abortion, it’s about women’s bodies being policed and controlled.
We also have to keep in mind that those who are wanting abortion doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t financially stable or had traumatic experiences – it could mean that they aren’t ready for motherhood or simply don’t want children.
Our bodies and the choices we make towards our bodies should not be up for political debate. What’s worse is seeing conversations about religious factors being brought into abortion dialogue.
The future for birth control, emergency contraceptives and other reproductive health measures remains uncertain with the abortion ban seemingly taken the country by shock.
Seeing America take ten steps backwards in modern day human rights issues has been extremely triggering to watch. However, what’s worse is many Canadians seemingly trying to prove Canada is better when it comes to abortion access – which is not entirely true.
While the Government of Canada firmly believes everyone should have access to abortion, there are many barriers people face, especially Indigenous communities. According to Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, knowledge, geography and finances continue to be barriers Indigenous peoples in Canada face with abortion access. Racism and colonization are also factors that limits them to abortion access, where Indigenous reproductive health practices were labeled as ‘devil’s work,’ and these perceptions still continues today. Furthermore, there is a long ongoing history to control Indigenous peoples bodies with forced sterilization, violence and more.
Currently, there are no federal laws governing abortion in Canada since it was decriminalized in 1998 following R v. Morgentaler. Additionally, with the recent concerns and outrage with the lingering abortion ban in the states, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion will be permanenlty protected in the country. The Liberals also announced $3.5 million for projects across the country to improve access to abortion – which, hopefully, includes marginalized and vulnerable groups, especially in reserves.
It should be pointed out, though, that women are not the only ones who can perform abortion, need emergency contraceptives, condoms available and other reproductive health safety. Gender-inclusive language is needed to ensure everyone and every body is included in the safe abortion access debate. Gender noncomforming and non-binary people are often left out of the conversation, with a lack of conversation about inclusion in healthcare systems.
With tensions growing in the states for human rights groups and the many people whose safety are on the line, protests, actions, petitions, campaigns and movements for people to have access over their own bodies hopefully sparks some sense into politicians and leaders not only in America, but worldwide that laws should not be policing anyone’s bodies.
At the end of the day, it is our body and our choices. The only outcome of banning abortion is banning safe abortion.
* Written by Maggie F. and Shivani D.
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