For Americans like myself, who are old enough to remember when abortion was illegal, having to fight this battle again is both dismaying and unnecessary. Every poll insists that at least 60% of Americans believe abortion should be legal. 30% of anti-abortionists believe it should be legal in some instances, like rape or incest.[1] And yet the Supreme Court has overturned it!

The majority's argument was based on the ludicrous proposition that since abortion was not mentioned in the Constitution in 1868, the 14th Amendment ("equal protection under the laws") does not apply. This is a ridiculous and dangerous argument. The Constitution does not mention abortion. It also does not mention women – does that mean that women should not exist? It does not mention slavery by name, yet slavery both existed and was protected by the original Constitution, which called slaves “other persons” and forbade ending the slave trade before 1808.

The so-called “originalist” position, held by this conservative majority, makes no sense to me. The brilliance of the Founding Fathers was to acknowledge that they did not know what the future would bring. They put the power to amend in the Constitution, only limiting it to not creating a new monarchy. Article IX of the Bill of Rights, without which the Constitution would not have been ratified, states “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” This seems pretty clear to me.

The Court which ruled against abortion is profoundly undemocratic. All the justices who want to reverse Roe v. Wade were appointed by presidents who did not win the popular vote (Bush and Trump). A number of them lied during their confirmation hearings about this issue. Finally, such a ruling would overturn the legal doctrine of “stare decisus,” which holds that long-established law should not be overturned. Anti-abortionists cited Brown v. Board of Education, which overturned segregation, as their precedent.

But overturning legal abortions will bring about terrible conditions. We know that outlawing abortion does not end the practice, it just ends safe abortions. When abortions were illegal, hospitals had what were called “septic abortion wards.” In the 1940s, 1000 women died each year from infections received from abortions.

One-third of those opposed to most abortions agree that they should be allowed in cases of rape or incest. But the states which hope to make abortions illegal do not make such exceptions. What about the eleven-year-old raped by her father? Such cases are exceptional, but they do occur.

Most abortions in the United States are now caused by medication which can be ordered online. Are states willing to interfere with people’s right to buy such products? They object to the “right to privacy” which underlay Roe v. Wade. How far are they willing to go to undermine all privacy?

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On Tuesday evening, March 16th, at 6 p.m. I gave a talk for the Brooklyn Public Library on the life and work of Ernestine Rose. This virtual lecture was in honor of Women's History Month as part of Midwood Library’s Women Pioneers series.

To watch if you are receiving this as an email: Go to the blog post or to the the video link.

In 1858, Ernestine Rose addressed a "Free Convention" in Rutland, Vermont.  Especially concerned about women's participation, she declared that if they did not speak out, "Silence implies consent.  It is high time the ladies learned to say No.  Therefore if you mean yes, say yes; and if you mean no, say no; though you find yourself in a minority of one."

Rose was more isolated in her day than we are in ours.  As both the president- and vice president-elect proclaim that they want to reverse Roe v. Wade, prevent funding for contraception much less abortion, and urge states to require "burials" for miscarriages and abortions, it is time for us to say NO!  There are a number of ways to do this.  Give donations to Planned Parenthood, NARAL, the Center for Reproductive Rights, or NOW.  Many have done so in Mike Pence's name.  Join the Women's Marches around the nation on the day after inauguration, January 21, 2017.  I'll be in the New York one, which assembles at noon at Union Square and will march up 5th Avenue to Trump Tower.  Write your representatives, and here actual letters and phone calls are more effective than emails or digital petitions. We can affect political decisions that will shape women's lives.  Outlawing abortions does not mean the end of abortions, it just means the end of safe abortions.  Do we want women to die as they did before Roe v. Wade?  If you mean "no," say NO!