Abortion
ABORTION
In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which protected a woman’s right to an abortion prior to fetal viability, medically considered to be between 23 and 24 weeks after Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Consequently, abortion restriction and access is left up to each state.
According to The Washington Post, Harris said she wants to restore Roe v. Wade and federal protections for abortions.
Trump, on the other hand, has said he is opposed to federal protections for abortion, favoring allowing states to decide their own abortion laws. He has taken credit for appointing justices that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Currently, 13 states have a full abortion ban, ten of which have no exceptions for incest and rape. Eight states have a gestational limit ban ranging from 6-18 weeks, which prescribes the time after pregnancy when it’s legal to get an abortion. Five states have a 22-24 week gestational limit, and the remaining 24 states have no limit.
Dr. Cheryl Pan, the chief of ambulatory obstetrics and gynecology at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, said sometimes a six-week gestational limit ban doesn’t provide enough time for women to find out about and address their pregnancy. These restrictions often cause women to look out of state for reproductive care. In 2023, 171,000 women traveled out of state for an abortion.
“We have accepted patients in our (Santa Clara) hospital from states like Texas, for example, where women do not have the rights that they have in the state of California,” Pan said. “They just wanted to have a discussion that they can’t have with their doctors because the laws are written so stringent that if a doctor talks about (abortion) or mentions it, they’re potentially liable to be prosecuted.”
For those without the ability to travel, senior Briar Dorogusker said many will still pursue abortions, but an abortion ban will prevent them from happening in a safe environment.
“I really hope that (Harris) is able to bring (abortion) back to the government nationally and make sure that everyone has access,” Dorogusker said. “It’s going to happen no matter what, so having it protected by law and done safely by medical professionals is really what’s best for the country.”
McIntyre said the freedom to choose whether or not to have an abortion should be a fundamental right of Americans.
“Roe v. Wade and just generally, women’s right to choose – free will – is something that America is very profound on,” McIntyre said. “Being pro-choice, for me, is just allowing women to have control over their lives, especially in healthcare and their bodies.”
With the exception of the mother’s life being at risk, Beach said his belief that humans have equal rights to life in and outside the womb aligns with that of Trump.
“Its logical conclusion would be to outright ban it, other than the exception of the life of a mother because a baby is a human life,” Beach said. “It has its own DNA, its own body. I think that everyone should be able to choose what they do with their body and a baby is its own body. I don’t think that someone has the right to terminate the life of another human being living inside of them who’s done nothing wrong in any situation.”
According to a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 61% of voters say the outcome of this election will have a major impact on access to abortion in the country.
