State’s abortion law likely to be challenged | News
Roe v. Wade is synonymous with American abortion rights. However, the Supreme Court ruling that guaranteed the constitutionally protected right to abortion in the U.S. has only been in effect since 1973.
Prior to this landmark ruling, women who were seeking to terminate a pregnancy often resorted to a range of unsafe methods, according to Sarah Janda, professor of history at Cameron University.
“Some women found trained medical personnel who were willing to perform abortions even though they were not legal,” Janda said. “More commonly though, women had abortions performed by untrained individuals in unsanitary conditions which resulted in infections, future infertility and even death. Some women, especially those without money, support or other options, performed self-abortions, which very often resulted in serious complications.”
Roe has long been a target of anti-abortion-rights activists. The ruling has faced numerous challenges over the decade. One of the reasons these challenges have continued is the lack of a federal law protecting abortion rights following the original Supreme Court ruling, according to Janda.
“There is obviously nothing in the U.S. Constitution about abortion, one way or another. The constitutional ambiguity and the failure of Congress to pass federal legislation that followed up on the Supreme Court decision has meant that individual states have enacted laws to either reduce or expand access to abortions,” Janda said.
Oklahoma’s recent bill, signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt on April 12, is another attempt to challenge Roe.
“The new Oklahoma law is set to go into effect in 90 days. Without a doubt, it will be challenged in the courts, both before and after it takes effect,” Janda said. “The most likely reason it would not go into effect is if there is a successful injunction to delay while awaiting a high court ruling.”
The Supreme Court is poised to make a ruling this summer that could roll back the law. Any outcome from that ruling will certainly impact the new Oklahoma law, Janda said.
However, even if the Supreme Court rolls back or weakens Roe, Janda believes the Oklahoma law will still face court challenges.
“There would likely still be some interesting challenges to the legality of the Oklahoma law, especially because of the lack of exception for women who are victims of rape or incest,” Janda said.
For example, critics of the Oklahoma law might argue that the failure to allow for exceptions in case of rape or incest violates the 13th Amendment which prohibits slavery and forced servitude.
“I think the main thing that we can learn from history is that criminalizing something guarantees two things. One, that it will become far more dangerous. Two, it will be impossible to regulate,” Janda said. “Criminalizing something, whether it is abortion, alcohol consumption, or something else, does not guarantee that it will end. Criminalizing abortion is unlikely to prevent desperate women from having them. Women with the means to do so will simply go to another state, and women without that option will find themselves in the same situation as women did prior to the Roe decision.”
