Black Girl's Journey to Women's March NYC

“No woman wants an abortion as she wants an ice cream cone or a Porsche. She wants an abortion as much as an animal caught in a trap wants to gnaw off its own leg.” -Frederica Mathewes-Green

In 1842, Texas enacted the first criminal abortion statute. Articles 1191-1194 in the Texas Penal Code set forth a punishment for producing an abortion, accomplice liability, punishment for attempting to procure an abortion, and that death of mother by an abortion or attempted abortion is murder (Texas Penal Code, 1961). Article 1196 offered an exception for an abortion administered solely for the purpose of saving the mother’s life (Texas Penal Code, 1961). These were the excerpts of the 1961 Texas Penal Code that were disputed and held to be unconstitutional in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade.

“I consider abortion to be a deeply personal and intimate issue for women and I don’t believe male legislators should even vote on the issue.” --Alan K. Simpson

Norma McCorvey is better known to most Americans by her legal alias, Jane Roe, the plaintiff in the landmark Case Roe v. Wade. McCorvey’s journey to becoming Jane Roe initiated after she attempted to get an abortion while pregnant with her third child. In 1970, she was a 21-year-old unmarried, pregnant Texas resident. McCorvey didn’t have custody of her first two children and wanted to abort the fetus she was currently carrying.

Originally, McCorvey alleged that she was raped, which could have permitted her to have a legal abortion. Texas law made exceptions for instances of rape and incest. Later, she publicly announced that had been a lie. Texas law made it a felony to abort a fetus unless “on medical advice for the purpose of saving the life of the mother” (Landmark Cases, 2019). Eventually, Roe filed a suit against Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, arguing that the statue violated the guarantee of personal liberty and the right to privacy clearly guaranteed in the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendment. In January 1973, the Supreme Court; the highest court in the land, decided in favor of Roe in a 7-2 decision.

The Supreme Court asserted that the right of a woman to choose whether to have an abortion is within her fundamental right to privacy, and is protected by the Constitution (the Fourteenth Amendment). Roe v. Wade is a landmark decision because it invalidated any state laws that prohibited first trimester abortions as well as prevented states from depriving women of their liberty. The court declared that after the first trimester, any abortion regulation must serve the purpose of preserving or protecting maternal health. This case is crucial to maternal health as well as Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once said, “You cannot have maternal health without reproductive health. And reproductive health includes contraception and family planning and access to legal, safe abortion.” I agree. Roe v. Wade encouraged state funded abortions through Medicaid and Planned Parenthood. Thanks to Jane Roe, thousands of women with an array of socioeconomic and racial backgrounds nationwide gained reproductive control and the ability to exercise their right to privacy.

“Decades ago, women suffered through horrifying back-alley abortions. Or, they used dangerous methods when they had no other recourse. So when the Republican Party launched an all-out assault on women’s health, pushing bills to limit access to vital services, we had to ask: Why is the GOP trying to send women back… to the back alley?” -Lisa Edelstein

On December 10th 2018, the Supreme Court refused to hear cases brought by Louisiana and Kansas seeking to prohibit Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from their Medicaid programs (The New York Times, 2018). Three conservative justices dissented while Justice Brett Kavanaugh surprisingly agreed with the majority in declining the case. If the Supreme Court had accepted the states’ argument, tens of thousands of poverty-stricken women would have lost the health care offered by Planned Parenthood (The New York Times, 2018). The cases didn’t directly question the constitutionality of abortion restrictions. However, the cases did argue whether those states could prohibit Planned Parenthood from providing contraception and other reproductive health services in the Medicaid program. Day by day, state legislatures are racing to enact abortion restrictions and as a result the Supreme Court is being asked to hear cases disputing those restrictions. It is due to this actuality that supporters of abortion rights should worry.

President Trump purposely appointed Supreme Court justices like Brett Kavanaugh who would threaten the important precedent of Roe v. Wade. Justice Kavanaugh has testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he would allow the government to impose oppressive regulation of abortion (CNN Politics, 2018). These regulations may include but are not limited to; additional requirements that could delay the procedure or in harsher rules for physicians who would perform it. What does this entail for women in the United States? This means that our (women’s) fate hangs in the vote of Kavanaugh, who wishes to over turn the landmark case. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion law would be determined on a state-by-state basis, which is exactly why President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh. Trump supporters will argue that they voted for him because they’re pro-life, not realizing that allowing the government to form laws that only regard the female body (there are no laws forcing men to be circumcised despite the health risks) fuels the war on deminishing human rights in the “land of the free.”This would set reproductive health rights back about fifty years and our ancestors would be scorned.

“It is time to renew the battle for reproductive rights. We have been outmaneuvered, outspent, outpostured, and outvoted by a group of single-issue activists. It has taken them nearly two decades to turn back the principles of Roe. Let's make sure it takes us a shorter time to replace protection for reproductive choice.” - Sarah Weddington

On January 19th, 2019 I marched with thousands of women in the heart of New York City. We rallied together to stand up for something we believed in; equal rights for all women. I hadn’t anticipated going to the Women’s March this year. I had only found out about it the night before scrolling through my newsfeed on Instagram. As a feminist, I felt obligated to attend. I instantly set my alarm and went to sleep.

The next morning, I joined tons of other feminists on 79th street and Columbus Avenue. The street was flooded with advocates and local vendors selling flyers and “Women’s March 2019” T-shirts. I quickly racked up on gear. I bought a t-shirt, a few buttons and a sign. Initially, I was simply looking for a sign to buy so I wasn’t empty-handed at the march. However, as I was looking at the options the young man had, a sign that read, “Defend Roe V. Wade,” jumped out at me. My beliefs about women’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion aligned perfectly with this sign. Knowing that Trump seeks to threaten women’s liberty and challenge the landmark case, I wanted to bring awareness to this matter and essentially defend Roe. V. Wade. I quickly paid the local vendor, took the sign and gladly marched downtown along Columbus Avenue.

The energy at the Women’s March in New York City was magical! At first, I was bummed that I was unable to recruit any of my friends or Instagram followers to join me. However, my feelings quickly changed. Although we were marching about controversial issues, everyone was smiling and welcoming. I swiftly acquainted myself with the other protesters. What amazed me the most was how unified everyone was in their purpose despite our differing backgrounds. I proudly marched alongside young white girl scouts, elderly black women and men of all types of ethnicities. We didn’t know each other from a hole in a wall but we did know that we all gathered for the same reason. Although the transformation we are looking for might not happen overnight, it’s satisfying to know that I played an active role in bringing about the change I wish to see in the world.

“Be the change you want to be in the world” -Gandhi

Call to Action: Donate (what you can) to Planned Parenthood to fund reproductive health services for disenfranchised women throughout the United States.