American civil liberties are under attack. The right to choose, the right to privacy, and the right to a woman’s bodily autonomy, are soon to be gone. 

In early May, Politico released a draft majority opinion that would completely overturn Roe v. Wade. In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision that the right to an abortion without restriction was federally protected under the Constitution. 

The ruling found that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment protects abortion under a “right to privacy,” along with Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992, which upheld Roe, abortions have been generally protected for over four decades in all states.

The leaked draft completely reverses the precedent set by Roe. In the draft, Justice Samuel Alito states the majority opinion of the conservative faction. 

The draft states that the rights outlined by Roe and Casey are not in the constitution and, therefore, can not be granted by the federal government or the Supreme Court. 

“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” Justice Alito said. 

Essentially, the opinion states that the right to an abortion should be decided by states.

If confirmed, overruling Roe v. Wade would severely restrict the rights and access to safe and legal abortion in many states across America. 

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion once this decision is released. 

This ruling is deadly. It’s dangerous and inequitable, meant to disproportionately affect people without access to healthcare or the ability/means to travel to a different state to get an abortion. 

That’s a perspective that’s important to keep in mind at Laguna. The vast majority of people simply cannot afford to travel to a different state to get a safe abortion or other life-saving reproductive services. The Lancet, a medical journal, did not mince words. 

“If the US Supreme Court confirms its draft decision, women will die.” 

“Alito and his supporters will have women’s blood on their hands.” 

While ostensibly “pro-life,” the movement to end abortion will do the opposite, being fatal to women who seek out unsafe abortions because they don’t have any other choice. 

California is moving to enshrine abortion in our state constitution. We’re lucky—at Laguna, we’re privileged in every sense of the word, but the vast majority of women in the U.S. do not have access to the same resources. After this ruling, it will get worse. 

It’s not just a female issue; it’s a racial issue. Those who will be affected the most are going to be people of color due to the centuries of institutional racism have created a system in which those are the people who lack resources and access to healthcare. 

Make no mistake, this draft decision is an egregious affront to human rights, and will jeopardize the lives of millions of Americans. 

Not only will it roll back decades of progress on gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial justice, this decision will condemn millions to the fate  of a forced pregnancy. 

The ruling will destroy decades of precedent and will lay the groundwork for the further erosion of rights, including gay and interracial marriage and the use of contraception. 

This is an attack on our constitutional right to privacy, which is an attack on every American’s freedoms and civil liberties. This ruling signals to a greater issue in our judicial branch, an unelected body chosen by an unrepresentative legislature can impose its will on us. 

This draft decision must be opposed by every level of our government and our representatives must codify the right to abortion. Change will not come from the halls of Congress, but from millions of everyday Americans deciding that enough is enough. 

We must march, we must vote, we must fight for our rights, and we must say no to those who want to control us.