over the past decade, the Guttmacher Institute argues, since most restrictions were created during this period.The 1973 court case was based on the experience of Norma McCorvey. Pregnant and unmarried, she wanted to have an abortion, but the law prevented her from doing so. At that time, women in Texas could only end their pregnancies in life-threatening pregnancy situations in which a termination could save a pregnant woman’s life.
McCorvey’s lawyers gave her the pseudonym “Jane Roe” and filed a court case against her state’s district attorney, Henry Wade in which they argued Texas abortion laws were unconstitutional. Judges in that state ruled in McCorvey’s favour.At the time of the ruling in 1973 abortions were already available in some parts of the US, but this decision meant that state policies that prevented terminations had to be struck down.
A question many South Africans are asking, is: What are the implications for our country, where abortions are legal, if the US reverses their abortion rights? Would the US, for instance, put restrictions on aid money for reproductive health programmes in South Africa and say funds can’t be used for abortion services?
Or, will potential changes in US abortion laws spur changes in our own termination of pregnancy legislation?The demise of the Roe v. Wade case will have little impact on access to abortion services in South Africa, but that wouldn’t change the fact that, despite termination of pregnancy being legal in the country, abortion policies are badly implemented.
An investigation by Bhekisisa and the US-based nonprofit organisation, TRIAD Trust, showed it’s also nearly impossible to get in touch with public sector clinics that provide abortions. In an effort to map free, legal abortion services in South Africa, we phoned listed abortion facilities to confirm they’re indeed providing the service. So far, we’ve made nearly 16,000 calls, and three-quarters of the calls made to state facilities , for instance.
This is quite intriguing though as I thought there was a narrative being pushed that the world is overpopulated, never mind that women's rights are being compromised and trampled on which might lead to backstreet abortions 😔