January 22 will mark the 43rd anniversary of what’s perhaps the single most important Supreme Court decision for women. For it was on January 22, 1973 that women were finally granted the right to determine their own reproductive lives in the decision Jane Roe, et al. v. Henry Wade, District Attorney of Dallas County. Seven men had decided that at least for the first trimester of a pregnancy, a woman’s body belonged to herself.
For 12 years we enjoyed unfettered access to abortion on demand. We no longer had to fly to a state where a compassionate doctor would certify that the pregnancy posed a danger to our mental health. No longer would we be forced to seek out help in dark alleys or rely on kitchen tables as operating arenas. It should be no surprise that with the ruling, women were finally free to compete with men for career advancement.
And then Ronald Reagan’s new appointees tipped the balance of the Supreme Court, creating one with an anti-woman, conservative agenda. Ever since, our right to control our own lives has hung on a precarious thread and once again faces a challenge that will be heard by a conservative Supreme Court with a clear bias.
It is time to fight back. Not with what Seattle-based activist and writer Amelia Bonow calls a plea for mercy, but with individual voices willing to #ShoutYourAbortion.
Those of us old enough to remember Women’s Liberation Movement consciousness-raising groups can identify with the #TogetherForAbortion meetings taking place this week. Women around the country—both in private and in public forums—are shouting their abortions in an effort to break the silence. To proudly, gratefully acknowledge the freedom of Roe v. Wade.
Here’s mine.