Anger, sadness and fear overwhelmed many American women across the United States on Friday following a Supreme Court ruling that opens the door to banning abortion rights in many states across the country.
Valerie Berry, who lives in Arizona, was badly shaken by the judgment rendered by six Supreme Court justices against three on Friday morning. The highest court in the United States thus invalidated its 1973 decision, Roe v. wade, which protected women’s right to abortion nationwide. This controversial judgment means that each of the 50 American states can now decide whether or not they wish to restrict or even ban abortions on their territory.
“I felt anger, frustration that we were taken so far back. I also felt disappointment with our politicians and fear for the future,” says Ms. Berry, in an interview with To have to at the end of the afternoon.
The one who works today in the middle of the car insurance confided to having had to have an abortion in the past after being the victim of a rape. She fears today “for the next generation”, in particular for the children of her friends. “I’m afraid they will have to carry a baby conceived during a rape when I didn’t have to do it,” says the lady, her voice emotional.
She now hopes more employers will follow suit with giants like Disney, Meta and Netflix who have put in place internal policies to defray travel costs for their employees who may need to travel to another state to get their hair done. abort. According to some estimates, more than half of the states in the country are likely to restrict or ban abortions in their territory. In particular, there are 13 states that have a “trigger law” that will allow them to ban or greatly restrict abortions on their territory during the next 30 days, or even today in some cases.
“Nothing is going to change in California. If something happens, it’s that women will come to California from other cities to get an abortion, ”reassures Kelly Hughes Davis, from this Democratic state, where the right to abortion will probably remain protected.
The 63-year-old American is concerned, however, about the potential significant jump in the number of births that the ban on abortions in several states could cause. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported nearly 630,000 legal abortions nationwide.
“Many of these babies will be born to women who don’t have enough money to take care of a child. Are you going to pay more taxes to take care of these children for 18 years? “says Kelly Hughes Davis. “If you say you are pro-life, you have to be ready to take care of these children, otherwise you are just punishing women for having sex,” she continues. The lady also believes that it is “poor women” who will suffer the most from restrictions on the right to abortion, since those better off will be able to travel more easily to obtain an abortion.
“There are young women who live in fear. Some will lose their lives because they will have to find other ways to have an abortion,” worries Valerie Berry, who recalls that clandestine abortions pose significantly higher health risks than those carried out legally by healthcare professionals. health. “They will potentially lose their lives because of the political or religious agenda of some men. »
A political impact?
As the midterm elections approach this fall, several American women questioned by The duty Friday said they hope the Supreme Court ruling will encourage more people to vote.
“I hope this shocking Supreme Court ruling inspires more people to vote in the midterm and future elections. It showed us that the only way to protect ourselves is to enshrine the right to abortion in federal law, because the Supreme Court and many states will certainly not do it for us,” said Kristin Benoit, who remains in Knoxville, Tennessee.
“I hope people will stand up in the next election and at least vote against what is bad and for the party that could change what is bad into something good”, for her part imaged Ms. Berry, without detailing his political positions.
On Friday, several Republicans welcomed this decision of the Supreme Court, which Senator Ted Cruz notably described as on Twitter of “nothing less than a massive victory for freedom” that will save the lives of “millions of innocent babies”. The Vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris, a Democrat, for her part called the judgment a “public health crisis”.
“You have to understand that millions of women are going to go to bed tonight without being entitled to the same services they had access to this morning,” said the politician. in a public statement on Friday. “This is the first time in the history of our nation that a constitutional right has been taken away from the American people,” continued Ms. Harris, who urged the people to “elect politicians who will protect your rights. in the upcoming midterm elections.