What Else Existed in 1850?
In 1850 America, one in every 100 women died in childbirth. Can you even imagine that out of every one hundred births, the mother died? Pregnancy is as natural as everything we humans do, but it is one of the most dangerous things a woman can go through in their lifetime.
We were not lawless; early Americans did their best to adhere to their religions. Arizona was not yet a state, and this was the period in which the Arizona anti-abortion law was passed.
The Cost of Dobb’s
This one thing alone should make people aware of the reality of the cost of the Dobb’s decision. Even today, with the improved maternal health care of the 21st century, the maternal death rate in America has fallen behind every other first-world country. Now, with the growing number of states making nearly all abortions illegal, physicians are bracing themselves for the return of the onslaught of deaths from either women forced to term with an abortion that takes her life or women who would rather risk trying to abort themselves rather than carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term.
Purely life-saving abortions are responsible for saving the lives of roughly 16,000 women a year in America, that is, until now. Even in states where abortion is allowed under the law for life-saving abortions, the woman will have to go to court to prove her life is in danger. That means filing the papers, getting a hearing, and then perhaps waiting for a trial date to be allowed to show her justification for aborting. This can take weeks, if not months, and by then, in many cases, the woman would have died or had an illegal abortion, risking both her life and a jail term for her and anyone who helped her.
The Horrors of the 1930 -1970
How can we, as Americans, justify standing by and allowing the horrors of the 1930’s and 1960’s to continue? In her film series, Dorothy Fadiman risked her life seeking an abortion many years ago. Her series can be seen on ChoiceatRisk.com for free. Dorothy is a long-time filmmaker-activist who has warned Americans of the dangers of overthrowing Roe v. Wade since the 1990s.
I had the delight of meeting her at the Worldwide Women’s International Film Festival in Phoenix this past March. She continues her advocacy and works to get her films seen nationwide to educate people about the costs of the overthrow. Her tireless efforts are inspirational and groundbreaking. Watching her films, you walk away with a crushing view of what life as an Obstetrician in America was life before the Roe decision. Every hospital had wings with twenty or more beds of young women in pain and dying after a botched abortion attempt. Doctors had to let them die, let their bodies be maimed, and their ability to carry future children in jeopardy. This unacceptable reality is what we now have as a genuine possibility of life in these states where abortion has been made illegal. Then, just this week, Arizona’s Supreme Court ruled the State could roll back to an 1860s law prohibiting abortions altogether. That’s when the maternal death rate was at 1% of all live births, meaning every one out of 100 mothers died in childbirth.
Harsh Truths
52% of the abortions that do take place in those states (and others) are achieved through chemical abortions resulting from taking the so-called “abortion pill”. The pill which is now the Supreme Court is considering banning altogether! This, of course, increases the risk of even more deaths and maiming.
While there could be reform as activists get motivated to change the state’s laws to match the public support of women’s health, those waiting to see that reform happen could lose their lives, their ability to care for their existing children, or their ability to have children in the future. We are literally regressing every day in this country to a time where women’s lives are disposable. With all the gains of the last century, old white men seem to be doing their darndest to turn the clock back to a time when women had no power whatsoever. Suppose the Arizona Supreme Court can approve a law that restricts a person’s ability to have body autonomy. What’s to keep ANY state from rolling back laws to allow for executions of gay people for sodomy or even slavery?
Is That Extreme?
Yes, I am aware of how extreme that sounds, But in reality, there is precedent for such things happening. Back in the 1970s, Iran was a progressive country with women in leadership roles, wearing short skirts and heals, driving, and leading productive lives; today, they are only allowed to go out escorted by a male family member, wearing clothes that cover up 98% of their bodies, and risk being stoned for a man even looking at her in a way that entices them.
Freedom Truly at Risk
“Handmaid’s Tale” may have seemed alarmist and exaggerated, but there is reason to consider that our formerly free America could be taken down that path. Germany was a free and open society before Hitler took power and started genocide on an entire race of people. Free and democratic, Hitler slowly devised a way to take over the country by legal means, using the courts to yield to his power. That is EXACTLY what is happening today in America. If we don’t all stand up and say, “Enough is enough,” what is to prevent this same thing from happening here? NOTHING. With the gerrymandering that has taken place over the past century, the legal system has turned against everyday citizens and given all the power over how we live our lives to corporations and oligarchs. We have fallen into the same traps that Germany, Russia, Hungary, and other dictatorships have succumbed to as well. Don’t imagine that for a minute we will be immune. No country is immune… not even ours.