36 Years with Roe v. Wade - Where would we be without it?

Today is the 36th Anniversary of the historic court decision, Roe v. Wade.

After an election season where the balance of the Supreme Court, and subsequently the future of this specific court case, depended on the election of a democratic president, it is with a sigh of relief that I celebrate this anniversary.

I think that one of the most important things when celebrating a court decision such as Roe v. Wade is to remind ourselves how the United States would be without it's protective measures. Here is an excerpt from a background piece I wrote about the decision describing the access to abortion procedures before the passage of Roe v. Wade:

Before the landmark decision of Roe v. Wade in 1973, which legalized the ability for a woman to choose to have a safe, legal abortion, women had very few choices when it came to handling unplanned pregnancies. In rare cases, women could get a therapeutic abortion when the pregnancy jeopardized their life, but they would have to fly to places such as Puerto Rico, Cuba or London to receive it. Since this option wasn't available to most women, those wishing to terminate unplanned pregnancies resorted to back-alley procedures and do-it-yourself abortions. Additionally, the Jane collective, formed in 1969, was in essence an abortion referral service. Members of the collective hung posters around Chicago stating: "Pregnant, don't want to be? Call Jane at 643-3844." Women seeking an abortion called the number and left messages that were then answered by a "Call-Back-Jane" who would help the pregnant woman find a pre-screened abortion provider group. With these and other methods, however, many women died as a result botched procedures.

The Roe v. Wade decision written by Justice Blackmun, stated that "a woman's right of personal privacy includes the abortion decision" and held that a woman, with the help of a doctor, could choose abortion within the first trimester of pregnancy without restriction, but that the state can impose restrictions in second and third trimesters when it comes to protecting maternal health or when the fetus is a viable human being.

While this court case paved the way for many other legislative efforts to improve reproductive health measures for women, there are still many threats to the right to privacy and ability to choose for women. The "conscious" rule which was passed in the final hours of the Bush Administration for instance, now allows employees who object to abortion and sterilization to avoid delivering such procedures to patients. It is written so broadly as Jessica Arons says that it "could also apply to contraception, fertility treatments, HIV/AIDS services, gender reassignment, end-of-life care, or any other medical practice to which someone might have a personal moral (not even religious) objection."

Many young women today are born with the privilege of using birth control, the emergency option of Plan B and the choice of having an abortion as well as giving birth. With these privileges comes a responsibility to make decisions that respect a woman's body, and honor those who came before us and helped make these options possible for women today.

In honor of this anniversary, several organizations are creating opportunities for women to discuss Roe v. Wade. Amplify is hosting a blog-a-thon, NARAL is hosting a "Blog for Choice Day" and asking bloggers to answer the following question: What is your top pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress?

And maybe, if we're lucky, the Obama administration will reverse the Global Gag Rule on this anniversary - allowing women abroad to once again gain access to the same privileges of women in the United States in terms of NGO funded contraception and reproductive health procedures.