Celebrating Roe v Wade

On January 22 we celebrate 34 years of Roe v Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that established a woman's right to abortion. The positive change that legal abortion made in the United States in 1973 was unmistakable. Roe dramatically and immediately improved women's lives and health.

Before legalization, women who attempted to decide their own reproductive futures tried self-induced or back-alley abortions. Thousands died as a result. We celebrate today because women don't have to risk their lives, health or safety to get an abortion.

BUT today, in places around the globe where abortion, birth control and health care are not accessible, women are still dying. Globally, of 19 million women and girls who seek abortion annually, approximately 70,000 die, and thousands more are left with debilitating life-long injuries.

In the 1960's and early 70's in some cities in the US, women, men, clergy, doctors and police created underground networks to make safe abortion available. The most famous network was called Jane in Chicago. In California, feminists studied medical texts and learned from each others' bodies, and crafted a simple technique to remove a very early pregnancy using easy-to-get materials. The goal was to put control of reproduction into women's hands.

We celebrate Roe's anniversary because of how it improved women's lives, yet we have to remember that Roe v Wade was a compromise. The Supreme Court attempted to balance a woman's freedom or liberty interest with the State's interest in the developing fetus. In the old days, abortion was a crime. We believe today it should be a crime to force a woman to give birth, to stay pregnant, or to deny her health care.

While we value the positive consequences of Roe, we believe the right to abortion and reproductive decisions throughout pregnancy should be stronger. Fundamental human rights require that a woman always governs her own body. And, fundamental human rights should not be compromised.

The right to abortion, to control one's own fertility, has been a centerpiece of the women's movement for the past 34 years. Yet it was never the only goal. The women's movement is about respecting women's ability to have a baby and parent with dignity, equal opportunity in education and workplace, childcare, an end to violence against women, respect for women's bodies and choices, an end to discrimination and full human rights for all women worldwide.

Beverly W. is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Cedar River Clinics, a nonprofit feminist organization that provides abortion, birth control and women?s health care in Tacoma, Renton and Yakima.

"Abortion and birth control are powerful tools in the hands of women."

Feminist Women's Health Center