Last Monday was quite a day for America…and not in a good way! A draft from the Supreme Court indicated that the Court intends to overrule the results of the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, as well as the 1992 decision of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, whose results have “upheld the constitutional right to abortion” for women and “prohibited states from banning abortion before about 24 weeks, when a fetus is viable outside the womb,” per Time Magazine. 

If this were true, then abortion in just over half of the country’s 50 states (including North Carolina, Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota, Ohio, Arizona, Texas, and even more) are “likely to ban abortion.” The draft from the Supreme Court on this decision included a quote from Justice Samuel Alito, which states, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.”

Well, let me ask Justice Alito something: is it not “egregiously wrong” to take away the rights of women to choose whether or not they want to bear a child? Will the restriction of abortion in more than half of America’s states, which will likely result in more young women who become pregnant, forced these women to become mothers? And won’t providing these women with resources to take care of children not have “damaging consequences” for our country?

The fact that this is even being seriously considered is a travesty and speaks a great deal about where our country is headed. We call ourselves the “greatest country in the world” due to how free we are, and, yet, we are the second-largest carbon emitter in the world behind only China. Institutional racism is still very much prevalent, and it is still difficult to get good health care. Now, we are considering limiting women’s freedom to choose? People are also concerned that gay marriage could be next.

This isn’t progress, this is going backwards. If these Supreme Court justices really cared about the integrity and freedom of our country, they should be working to protect the rights of everyone, and that includes women. While this decision isn’t final yet (per Politico, this is just a deliberation and the court’s ruling will not be finalized until published, most likely within the next couple of months), it is paramount that the overturning of Roe v. Wade cannot happen, for the sake of our country.

We are free for a reason, and that’s because we have made more progress than ever. Decisions like this are only reversing that progress, and giving more power to those who are more closed-minded and not open to actual positive change. So, let’s do the best we can and raise our voices to the highest authority to make sure that women’s right to choose is protected. 

Remember, as Greta Thunberg once said, “no one is too small to make a difference.” And that includes all of us!