On June 24th, 2022, the constitutional right to abortion in the United States came to an end. The Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that had guaranteed the right to choose for nearly 50 years. This ruling represents an assault on women's reproductive freedom and autonomy, unleashing a public health crisis that will disproportionately impact poor women and women of color. As devastating as this is, we cannot afford despair or surrender. Now is the time to turn grief into action, to organize, mobilize, and reclaim these fundamental rights state by state. The path forward demands fierce advocacy, political participation, legal challenges, and tireless solidarity with all who share the vision of reproductive justice.

Roe vs. Wade: The Landmark Decision That Changed Everything

To fully grasp the implications of overturning Roe, we must first understand what the initial 1973 ruling meant for women's rights. Before Roe, abortion was criminalized in over half the states, forcing countless women to seek dangerous back-alley abortions or attempt terminating their pregnancies themselves using cords, coat hangers, bleach or battery acid. Those who had resources would desperately try to find a doctor willing to break the law. It's estimated that in the 1960s, between 200,000 to 1.2 million illegal abortions were performed annually.

This was an era of shame, fear and despair for women with unwanted pregnancies. Thousands were left permanently sterilized or dead from unsafe abortions. The Roe decision changed all of that. It established that the constitutional right to privacy protected a woman's choice to have an abortion without excessive government restrictions. With Roe in place, abortion was legalized in all 50 states up to the point of fetal viability outside the womb (roughly 24 weeks). This gave women control over their reproductive lives and bodies. It represented freedom, dignity and equality.

The Relentless 45-Year Campaign Against Roe

However, the historic Roe ruling also galvanized opposition, sparking a powerful anti-abortion "Right to Life" movement. Backed by religious conservatives and funded by wealthy donors, this political force vowed to overturn Roe and outlaw the procedure state by state. The movement strategically organized at the grassroots level, electing anti-abortion candidates to state legislatures and Congress. When Reagan took office in 1981, the political tide began shifting dramatically against abortion rights. His administration championed the "pro-life" agenda and appointed Supreme Court justices openly hostile to Roe.

This kicked off a four decade campaign to gut abortion rights through increasingly extreme legislative restrictions and legal challenges. Right wing lawmakers pushed measures like mandatory waiting periods, medically unnecessary ultrasound requirements, and onerous regulations designed to force clinic closures. They advanced near total abortion bans which blatantly violated Roe, hoping they would serve as test cases to bring before an anti-Roe Supreme Court. State after state enacted rigid restrictions, limiting when, where and under what circumstances abortions could occur. Lawmakers in 26 states even banned abortion at 6 weeks - before most women know they're pregnant.

Meanwhile, Republican presidents continued nominating Supreme Court justices hellbent on reversing Roe's protections. The Court lurched dramatically to the right, eventually giving the anti-abortion movement the majority it needed to achieve its ultimate trophy - the complete decimation of Roe vs. Wade.

The Unthinkable Becomes Reality - Roe is Overturned

On June 24th, 2022, the Supreme Court officially released its earth-shattering 5-4 ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson, upholding Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and overturning both Roe and the subsequent 1992 case Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, which had affirmed Roe’s central holding. In the shocking majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito declares "The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision...” He argues that abortion is not "deeply rooted in this Nation's history” therefore Americans have no constitutional right to it.

With this ruling, the Supreme Court disemboweled a half century of legal precedent in stripping away constitutional protections for abortion. The impact is both immediate and catastrophic. Over 20 states had medieval abortion bans on the books, ready to impose the moment Roe fell. These horrific “trigger laws” instantly took effect, mechanically outlawing abortion - forcing even children raped by relatives to give birth.

Predictably, the states moving fastest to criminalize abortion care are among the poorest in the country, with high infant and maternal mortality rates and striking health inequities. The consequences will again fall heaviest on low-income women and women of color. Research shows 75% of abortion patients nationwide are poor or have low incomes. Nearly 60% already have children, with many unable to afford more. Data also shows Black women are over 3 times more likely to die during childbirth compared to white mothers. For millions, being denied abortions jeopardizes their health, wellbeing, families, careers, financial stability and survival.

Meanwhile, wealthy women with means will have options, being able to travel to states where abortion remains accessible. But for marginalized communities, underground networks and black markets will re-emerge. We know banning abortion doesn't stop abortion - it stops safe abortion. Clandestine, unsafe terminations will rise, predicting a surge in hospitalizations and deaths that are entirely avoidable.

Make no mistake - overturning Roe launches women’s rights back decades while guaranteeing profound public health repercussions. It represents the success of a hardline political movement wanting to coerce pregnant people into motherhood against their will and without exception. It hands the state control over the bodies of half the population, forcibly conscripting women into reproductive servitude.

Turning Grief into Action: The Path Forward

So where do we go from here? The loss of Roe’s protections across half the country is alarming and outrageous. But we cannot resign ourselves to this perilous new reality - we must channel our grief into action. With Roe now overturned, securing abortion rights becomes a state-by-state fight. The focus turns to legislation, litigation and electing reproductive rights champions who can recover lost ground.

Already, pro-choice groups are mounting legal challenges against extreme bans, pushing for state constitutional amendments to enshrine protections, and establishing "Safe Haven ̈ networks assisting women with abortion access and care. Congresses and state legislatures have introduced bills codifying Roe’s protections, requiring majority public support to impose abortion restrictions. Ballot measures in California, Michigan, and Vermont are underway, allowing direct democracy on abortion rights.

National organizations are coordinating with state partners, unleashing voter registration drives targeting indignant young people. They aim to drive massive turnout in the November 2022 midterms and beyond, electing lawmakers who will defend reproductive freedom at all levels. Millions will vote with their rights on the line. Through unwavering civic participation, pro-choice majorities can reset the political landscape state by state.

Peaceful mass protests will continue pressuring lawmakers and shaping the national narrative. Corporate backlash against abortion bans could have major influence, with companies refusing to operate in hostile states. Some predict this corporate exodus combined with devastating public health fallouts may eventually force some states to reverse extreme prohibitions.

While the loss of Roe’s federal protections is an undeniable setback for reproductive rights, it is not the end. The anti-abortion crusade has awakened a powerful pro-choice majority across the country. Now more galvanized than ever, advocates will employ every peaceful, lawful strategy possible to restore these rights - whether in state houses, courthouses or voting booths. The loss of a constitutional right requires nothing less than tireless, diverse, nonviolent resistance. Creative legal challenges, mass civic participation and nonviolent direct action offer hopeful paths for reclaiming these fundamental freedoms state by state. The vital work goes on. Reproductive rights will someday be ours again...we must make it so through compassionate, ethical activism. Our bodies and the generations to come depend on it.

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