Roe v. Wade Turns Forty

Today marks the fortieth anniversary of the US Supreme Courts ruling on the case of Roe v. Wade.

The good news is that a recent poll by NBC/WSJ shows that the majority of Americans think that abortion should remain legal. This Washington Post article discusses the finer points of the poll which contains many interesting findings. One in particular that struck a chord with me was the majority of those under 30 did not know what Roe was about. A disappointing reality for certain but this does show the prevalence of the court case diminishing as time goes on. This could be a positive indication that the time when abortion was not legal is becoming less and less of a reality. Of course I am reminded of that tricky phrase about those not learning from the past being doomed to repeat it.

Another important point is that 74% of those who support overturning Roe v. Wade ranked the issue as critical where as only 31% of Roe supporters called the issue critical. This demonstrates the intensity of anti-choice supporters and how fiercely they feel towards the case of Roe v. Wade even after 40 years.

The work ahead is clearly about keeping abortion not only legal but actually available to women. More and more restrictions are being put in place to prevent those women who seek the procedure from obtaining them without enormous obstacles.

For anyone wanting to learn more about the landmark victory for women in the case of Roe v. Wade, I strongly encourage you to read Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars by Cynthia Gorney. There is no other text that puts forth a truly unbiased occurrence of the years leading up to and immediately following the case of Roe v. Wade.