The U.S. Supreme Court on January 22, 2023, enshrined the right to abortion in Roe v. Wade, which was overturned in 2022
As the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision approaches, reproductive rights advocates continue to fight on behalf of marginalized communities impacted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark ruling.
Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March, on Saturday led one of several marches that took place across the country as she and others continue to fight for abortion rights.
Matters were made worse for women when a federal appeals court rendered a decision earlier this year that permitted the state of Texas to ban emergency abortions.
The three-judge panel prohibited the Biden-Harris administration enforcing the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986 in the state. The law makes it mandatory for doctors to perform abortions if a woman’s life is in danger due to the pregnancy.
Anna Rupani, executive director of Fund Texas Choice, told theGrio that “Doctors and emergency room staff already have the enormous burden of providing lifesaving care at critical moments; this is no different.”
Demonstrators hold signs during a rally to defend abortion access and codify Roe v Wade into law, in Foley Square in New York City on October 8, 2022. (Photo by Bryan R. Smith / AFP) (Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
“They should not be encumbered by harmful laws that are being interpreted by non-medical professionals who do not understand the need for life-saving care and are possibly preventing or delaying this care with horrific consequences to the pregnant person,” she said.
“Because of this ruling, it is literally dangerous for people to be pregnant in this state because they cannot count on medical professionals to provide lifesaving care in grave emergencies,” she continued.
O’Leary Carmona also told theGrio that “Black and brown women are more likely to be criminalized” as it pertains to abortions.
In December 2023, Brittany Watts, a Black woman who had a miscarriage at her Ohio home, was charged with felony corpse abuse after investigators found the fetus lodged in the toilet in her home.
Abortion rights advocates rally outside the US Supreme Court on April 14, 2023, in Washington, DC, speaking out against abortion pill restrictions. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
Warren Assistant Prosecutor Guarnieri informed the Municipal court judge that “how the child died” was not the issue, however it was “the fact the baby was put into a toilet, was large enough to clog up the toilet, left in the toilet, and she went on (with) her day.”
Despite the prosecutor’s efforts to have Watts indicted, a grand jury declined to do so.
“Luckily this case did not move forward, but it easily could have,” O’Leary Carmona told theGrio. “We know that Black and brown communities are the most at risk in terms of criminalization.”
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