A Polarized Dead-End: Roe v. Wade in the 21st Century
By Nataly Delcid ’24
Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, and everyone in between, tend to lean different ways on a vast array of issues. Still, they all have one thing in common: everyone wants to see our country and its people prosper in a healthy dynamic. The only thing that differentiates us is our views on the best way to make that happen. With that in mind, our modern (emphasis on the word modern) country is built on this lovely notion of indisputable liberty and free speech; however, how we respond to the voices who exercise those rights (on either side of the spectrum) is the root cause of why folks on both ends of the spectrum are so miserably upset about the Roe v. Wade ruling, overturning, and the controversy surrounding it.
I believe that as a country, we’re moving backward by shifting to nearly complete polarization because of the closed minds in the pro-life and pro-choice movements that reflect ignorance on both sides of the spectrum. If the nation is genuinely motivated to work in the best interest of its citizens, women especially, efforts to reduce the focus on the extreme sides of the pro-life and pro-choice movements must be backed by all those who want to see the U.S. prosper.
A compromise should be made in which abortions are permitted nationwide, but the time in which a woman can receive an abortion should be limited to more widespread ethical standards, ideally at around 13-15 weeks, as 92.2% of abortions occur before or at 13 weeks (CDC 2021). This would be a reasonable solution as abortions after this period are more likely to be deemed unethical (FiveThirtyEight 2022) and pose greater risks to a woman’s health.
Keep in mind that this is all from a strategic standpoint; personally, I think it’s nobody’s damn business what people do with their bodies at any point in time. Yet, I would be optimistic to think that my exact opinion would be represented in the legislature across partisan lines. A beautiful and wise concoction of the wants of American citizens should be heard, and frankly, polls find that people don’t want Roe v. Wade overturned—they just want it codified (NPR 2019). Many of us seemed to have missed the classroom discussion on the importance of teamwork in elementary school P.E, but we must relearn it now.
Oklahoma lawmakers passed multiple restrictive abortion bills this year, including one that prohibits abortions after six weeks of initial conception and another that considers the act of performing an abortion a felony. Many lawmakers seem to find pride in abortion bans and perceive this new bill as a step towards having “the genocide of unborn babies ended in America,” as Rep. Todd Russ, a Republican Oklahoma state legislator, told reporters. According to a poll done by NPR, 75 percent of Americans would like to keep the Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade to remain in effect. However, a majority would also like to see more restrictions on abortions. This shows that lawmakers are not truly reflecting the voices of the American people— rather, they are passing such bills in attempts to appeal to their predominantly right-leaning populations. This silences the voices of women who need access to healthcare constitutional rights as well as families and single mothers from low-income backgrounds who cannot realistically carry on a full-term pregnancy without drastic consequences.
Both pro-lifers and pro-choicers have solid arguments, as well as obvious flaws in them. For example, an issue particularly prevalent in the pro-life argument is that they emphasize the birth of the child over it’s life, barely advocating for better standards in adoption homes/centers, public school lunches, gun violence mitigation, and widespread access to psychological treatment for abused children. To move forward with any abortion restrictions, the standards by which children live need to improve; no more kids should be put through traumatic/unhealthy experiences. Additionally, an argumentative issue in the pro-choice movement includes the phrases used to back its movement up, such as “my body, my choice” and “it’s just a blob of cells,” which are ultimately pointless and insensitive because regardless of whether or not that someone’s opinion, different interpretations of what they mean to people won’t change through their constant regurgitation.
In a country so evenly divided on abortion rights, I believe Roe v. Wade should remain intact, but lawmakers and citizens must wipe off their “pro-choice” and “pro-life” slates and listen because, in the end, one side will not win; there will always be grievances from the “losing” one. There is still hope for a moderate resolution that will satisfy most citizens in this nation, but that can never be accomplished unless Americans empathize with each other rather than antagonize. Before you shut someone down, just listen to them. You have a lot to learn from each other, and your contribution to a healthy conversation is a gateway to progress.
