BY LINDA BURSTYN | When the ultraconservative members of the U.S. Supreme Court took away the fundamental right of American women to control their own fertility, the justices surely did not anticipate the wave of outrage they would unleash. Or perhaps they didn’t care.
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the immediate relegation of U.S. women to second-class status, some Republicans in politics—including those on the Supreme Court—have seemed unhinged. Zealous. Suddenly, it seemed, striking down the nearly 50-year-old precedent was not enough.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote of his desire to revisit other rights like contraception and marriage equality. Some state legislators are trying to pass laws to punish those who travel elsewhere to get medical help to end their pregnancies. Other Republican politicians have ensured there is no exception for survivors of rape or incest. Doctors fear the threat of criminal charges. In some states, women’s pharmacy purchases are being scrutinized.
And it’s not just those choosing abortions who are being punished. In anti-abortion states, women who want to continue their pregnancies are confronting the fact that if something goes wrong, they may not get the lifesaving medical care they need, given that their doctors may be fearful of prosecution by state authorities.
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