The likely reversal of Roe v Wade is seen as one of the most controversial U.S. Supreme Court decisions in decades

There are major concerns the leaked opinion draft will eventuate and overturn the right to safe abortions.  

“Women of colour will be hit the hardest”

Some political analysts say women from disadvantaged backgrounds will be unable to receive safe abortions.

“They will be the most impacted – the lowest income, those with less resources to terminate pregnancies” says Cheddar’s political director Megan Pratz.

For wealthy white women, Pratz says accessibility may be difficult. But they still have the resources and money to travel to jurisdictions where abortion is legal.

Meanwhile, Australian Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says women would be pushed into dangerous measures to abort unwanted pregnancies if it was reversed.

For generations, women have had access to abortions.

“But when they’re banned, when it’s pushed underground, when it’s made illegal, those who are in the most desperate need of that type of medical assistance, actually have to go and deal with people that are perhaps not qualified, putting them in a more vulnerable state, forcing them into poverty,” says Hanson-Young.

It’s a human right

Human Rights Watch released a brief to call out the Supreme Court and urge them to rethink their opinion.

“These are the very groups whose health the law should protect. Banning abortion does the opposite.”

“Access to safe and lawful abortion services is firmly rooted in the rights to life,” says Human Rights Watch.

It will also affect the health of pregnant women. Evidence shows there is a correlation between “restrictive abortion legislation and increases in maternal mortality and morbidity,” says Human Rights Watch.

Why are men speaking on women’s issues?

With protesters lining the streets right across America, there is frustration and confusion over why men have been heavily contributing to the issue.

“When we are having these political and community-wide debates around issues like abortion that impact directly on women’s bodies, it does tend to be men who are leading the charge, who are filling the space, and who are feeding the debate about whether women should have the right to control their own bodies or not,” Hanson-Young says.

Last December, Justice Samuel Alito wrote the draft following the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organisation case.

In the Dobbs v Jackson case, five out of the nine justices were in support of the draft including four men, who all appointed by Republicans.

By Katerina Kostakos