INSTRUCTIONS:
Abortion rights or the pro-choice movement is an important women’s issue. Roe v. Wade was a landmark supreme court decision that made abortion legal in the U.S. in the 1970s. Women’s right to choose has been supported by about 70% of the public (albeit with restrictions) in the United States since Roe was decided. At the same time abortion has been politically contested. In fact, some states have significantly reduced access to abortion. And now, with Trump’s three appointments to the supreme court, the court itself is well positioned to reverse Roe v. Wade, outlawing women’s right to abortion again. Residents in states that support abortion rights would still be able to have the right to have one. However, through much of the U.S., access might be denied for most women if Roe v Wade was reversed. This paper will analyze the pro-choice movement from its inception in the 1970s to today. I will ask and answer questions such as: Will the fact that the majority of people in the U.S. support the right to choose have an impact on keeping Roe v. Wade. Or will a supreme court, heavily weighted against abortion, lead to the end of the right to choose as we know it? Will the supreme court allow states to continue making decisions on this issue or will we see a national anti-abortion direction? What impact will the Biden Administration and a Democratic congress and senate have in the context of immanent supreme court decisions? 2021 is a good time to revisit the pro-choice movement. The United States is at a crossroads. This paper will examine the early years of the Roe v. Wade decision, the pro-life backlash, and the ways in which 2021 offers us a moment to see how this contested issue will move forward.