Intended for healthcare professionals

Opinion

The United States needs people to stand up for abortion

BMJ 2022; 377 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o1493 (Published 22 June 2022) Cite this as: BMJ 2022;377:o1493
  1. Sharon Lau, midwest advocacy director, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance

The loss of Roe v Wade would be an economic, social, and human rights tragedy, writes Sharon Lau

The unprecedented leak of a draft opinion by the US Supreme Court that would overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade decision legalising abortion in the US sent shockwaves around the world, as activists for women’s and human rights grappled with the potential repercussions.

The content of the draft opinion wasn’t a surprise to those of us who’ve dedicated our lives to preserving and expanding abortion rights, especially those working in states hostile towards abortion.

At Whole Woman’s Health (WWH) and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance (WWHA), we’ve been living in a post-Roe v Wade world since September 2021 when the state of Texas enforced Senate Bill 8, a law that bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. We began to see the writing on the wall when the Supreme Court refused to block the law and gave the green light to other states to pass copycat legislation. The court’s inaction sent a strong message: reproductive rights aren’t guaranteed.

For years, WWH and WWHA have had to adapt to an increasing number of restrictions on abortion …

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