WiNK

by: Molly Sullivan

A huge part of the news right now is about Roe V. Wade and the leak of a draft abortion opinion. What's currently happening is the Supreme Court confirmed that a draft leaked on Tuesday, which was ruling to overturn Roe V. Wade decision, was real but was not final. This is causing protesters to gather outside the court, though the final decision is not thought to be issued before June or maybe early July.

Overturning Roe V. Wade would mean that individual states would get to decide if abortions would be legal. It is expected that 25 states would likely ban abortion if they are allowed to, but other the states would continue to allow them. Connecticut specifically has said that abortion will stay legal and Connecticut will also protect patients seeking abortion care who may have traveled from other states that may have outlawed abortion. The 25 states that are most likely to ban abortion are, Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. It is believed that there are 13 states that will automatically ban abortion if Roe were to be overturned because these are trigger laws which means they will go into effect immediately.

If Roe V. Wade does get overturned and states make abortion illegal, this won't stop abortions. It will just make them unsafe and it will be more difficult for women to get abortions. Since these changes could have a big impact on young people, I asked some students for their opinions on this topic. Charlotte Purkiss, '25, said, "I think that women should have the majority vote on this because the men aren't the ones giving birth to the babies." Rebekah Tate, '25, said, "I think women should have the right to choose what they want and do not want to do with their own bodies." Elise Newman, '23 said, "I know this is a matter of legality, but it feels like men want control over female autonomy." Jack Zahner, '24 "I am pro choice because it's their body and they should get to choose what they want to do with their body." Thomas Renken, '25, said "Women should be in control of their own bodies."

A common theme in these opinions was that women should get to choose what they want to do with their bodies. If Roe V. Wade gets overturned women in certain states will no longer be able to make their own decision about abortion, they will not be able to make a decision about their own bodies.