The Overturning of Roe: How We Got Here, What to Do Now, and What Comes Next
More than 400 members of the Bryn Mawr community registered for last weekâs virtual teach-in on âReproductive Rights After Roe.â
Those who were able to attend the event heard from a panel of experts who, over the course of 90 minutes, touched on everything from the social and legal history of abortion in America, to the disproportionate impact the Dobbs ruling will have on people with lower incomes and people of color, to the fight for abortion rights now happening at the state level. Professor of History Sharon Ullman started the discussion by presenting some general historic context.
Ullman noted that there were no laws against abortion in the colonial period or at that time of the writing of the Constitution and that the first law against abortion didnât appear until 1821 in Connecticut. By 1900 all states had banned abortion.
âThere are two big drivers at play at this time,â said Ullman. âYou have the professionalization of medicine and the policing of womenâs bodies, and immigration and the falling white birth rate.â
According to Ullman the birth rate for white women in the United States fell from an average of seven children in the 1800s to 3.5 in the early 1900s.
âWhite supremacy and playing on the fears of the âotherâ has always been a part of the abortion debate,â said Ullman.
Ullman went on to talk about the modern abortion debate in the United States, the legal aspects of which were covered in greater detail by the next speaker, Linda Wharton â77.
Wharton is a professor of political science at Stockton University and former managing attorney at the Womenâs Law Project and co-lead counsel in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
In talking about the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973, which had established a constitutional right to an abortion, Wharton described it as, âan extremely measured opinionâ that was ârestrained and methodical" and âgrounded in precedent.â
She also pointed out that the 7-2 decision was made by a majority-conservative court as was the case she took part in, 1992âs Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In contrast, Dobbs, which she characterized as âpoorly reasoned, disdainful in tone and outside the norms of mainstream constitutional analysis,â illustrates how âradicalized the current Court majority has become.â
The next speaker of the evening was Mindy J. McGrath '00, senior director of policy and communications at the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, who provided an overview of abortion rights at the state level in the wake of Dobbs, the disproportionate impact on people who already experience systemic barriers to care, and thoughts on what individuals can do now.
âIf you can, donate to your local abortion fund and/or your local practical support fund. Whether you live in a state hostile to abortion rights or one that is protective, there is going to be a need that these funds are well-positioned to meet,â said McGrath.
One thing McGrath advised against is individuals starting their own âauntie networks.â
âThere are groups that have been preparing for this moment for decades. They have the infrastructure in place to keep people seeking abortion services safe. Please plug into their structures rather than trying to start your ownâ
Tamarah Moss, assistant professor of social work and social research, raised questions and concerns for patient communities, caregivers, as well as health and mental health providers. Moss highlighted the importance of intersectional identities of people who can become pregnant, especially adolescents, LGBTQ+ members, Black people, and people of color.
âWhat is going to be considered a medical emergency in states that have bans or restrictions?â Moss asked.
Sue Frietsche '77, founder of the Western PA office of the Womenâs Law Project and senior counsel, closed the evening's prepared remarks by talking about what life is like for those working on the front lines to provide abortion care.
âWe have never been challenged like we are today,â she said. âSome of our providers are opening at six in the morning and closing at 10 at night.â
Frietsche, and many of the other speakers, talked about the need to shore up constitutional protections at the state level, noting that in Pennsylvania there are several Senate bills making their way through the legislative process that would restrict access to abortion services.
The event ended with a brief Q&A during which many spoke about the long road ahead for those hoping to see the restoration of a federal right to abortion.
âIf we want to look for model, weâve just seen it,â said Ullman. âWe have to be ready to be in this for the long haul and to have an electoral and judicial strategy at every level of government.â
Suggested Readings and Organizations
Nicola Beisel and Tamara Kay, ",â American Sociological Review, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Aug., 2004), pp. 498-518.
Janet Farrell Brodie, . Cornell University Press, 1994.
Marlene Gerber Fried, ed., . South End Press, 1990.
Marlene Gerber Fried, Elena R. Gutiérrez, Loretta Ross, and Jael Siliman, . South End Press, 2004.
Michele Goodwin, . Cambridge University Press, 2020.
Carol Joffe, . Boston: Beacon Press, 1995.
Laura Kaplan, . The University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Mikki Kendall, . Penguin Books, 2021.
Sara Matthiesen, . Vol. 5. Univ of California Press, 2021.
Leslie J. Reagan,. Univ. of California Press, 1997.
Dorothy Roberts,. Vintage, 1998.
Loretta Ross and Rickie Solinger. . Univ. of California Press, 2017.
Johanna Schoen, . University of North Carolina Press, 2016
Rickie Solinger, . NYU Press, 2005; 2019.
Rickie Solinger, ed., . University of California Press, 1998.
Andrea Tone, . Hill and Wang, 2002.
Mary Ziegler, . Harvard University Press, 2015.
Marlene Gerber Fried, Elena R. Gutiérrez, Loretta Ross, and Jael Siliman, . South End Press, 2004.
Mary Ziegler, . Yale University Press 2022.