Chapter 3: Future Consequences

Swift action towards re-legalizing abortion is needed as the Supreme Court’s distressing decisions may not stop with overturning Roe. For example, as explained in this NPR article, the Court’s decision could also mean criminal charges for miscarriage, (defined by Planned Parenthood as the loss of an embryo or fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy), which is an already traumatic and saddening event. If this were to transpire, people could actually be punished for doing nothing wrong. 

In addition, as explained in this article from Today, this overturning could also lead to the prevention of birth control, something that helps to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place. If this came to fruition, it would just show that while this is claimed to be false, some governmental decisions are still based on religious values. To expand, many religions contain the belief that contraceptives (birth control) go against “natural” procreation, as explained in this article from Pandia Health. Yet, birth control is not just used to control fertility. As this article from Planned Parenthood explains, birth control can also help to lessen or prevent the following: acne, breast or ovarian cysts, ovarian or endometrial cancers, ovarian infections, iron deficiency, and or premenstrual symptoms. This demonstrates that if the government decides to ban birth control, it could only be because of the religious value that intercourse should only be for procreation as there is no scientific evidence stating that birth control is dangerous (though depending on the person it could increase some health problems, as explained in this article from Planned Parenthood). Our Post-Roe America should not be taken lightly, or just accepted. Not only are abortion and reproductive rights being threatened, but many other fundamental aspects to our everyday lives are, too. Millions of American lives could be shattered.