To the editor
Published 7:08 pm, Sunday, February 14, 2016
On the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are reminded of what life was like for women before safe and legal abortion — and what could again become a reality for many women across the country. For more than 40 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed that under Roe v. Wade, the constitution protects every woman's right to make her own personal medical decisions about abortion.
Yet, politicians in state after state have made it clear they will stop at nothing to end access to safe, legal abortion. According to the Guttmacher Institute, including the 57 abortion restrictions enacted in 2015, states have adopted 288 abortion restrictions just since the 2010 midterm elections swept abortion opponents into power in state capitals across the country.
With the U.S. Supreme Court soon hearing the biggest abortion case in decades, the stakes for women's access to safe, legal abortion are higher than ever. The court could soon determine the fate of women's fundamental right to access safe, legal abortion in the United States. Most people thought we were well past the days of women taking matters into their own hands, but laws that make it impossible to get safe and legal abortion are taking us backward.
Abortion is a deeply personal and sometimes complex decision for a woman, and you can't make that decision for someone else. Decisions about whether to choose adoption, end a pregnancy, or raise a child must be left to a woman, her family and her faith, with the counsel of her doctor or health care provider.
It is important that abortion remain a safe and legal medical procedure for a woman to consider, if and when she needs it.
Amanda S. Wilber
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