Article written by Eliza Wilson
Illustration by Hengjia Liu
This article was originally published in ‘Chimera’, Bossy’s 2022 print edition.
CW: Abortion, references to rape and incest.
On 24 July this year, I stared at my phone in shock, struggling to digest the words splashed across my screen. Frantically, I skimmed through each news article, trying to make sense of it all. I thought the world had progressed; I thought this fundamental right would remain safe in a country for which it had been fought with such perseverance. For weeks after the Supreme Court’s ruling, I thought of the millions this would impact, the countless lives that would be lost—the futures of so many tainted with uncertainty.
The 2022 case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organisation ultimately led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. In 1973, Roe established the right to an abortion until the end of the second trimester, the time at which a foetus is believed to become viable. This year, however, the Supreme Court decided that the US Constitution does not recognise the right to abortion, and therefore “the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives”. Now each US state can make their own laws regarding abortion. As of 18 September 2022, 14 states have banned abortion, with at least eight more expected to follow suit by the end of this year. Restrictions vary from state to state, with some not even allowing exceptions for rape and/or incest.
The physical impacts of this ruling are immense. Suddenly, millions are faced with limited or no access to abortions, creating situations in which illegal (and usually unsafe) abortions are sought, or people are forced to carry their pregnancies to term. Unsatisfied with what I had read and wanting to learn more about the impact of the Court’s reversal, I spoke to ANU Gender Studies Professor Natasha Szuhan. Speaking about the decision, Szuhan noted the “bodily and mental stress of an actual pregnancy” that will result due to the new restrictions, and highlighted how abortion is both a physical experience and a psychological one. People face a plethora of emotions both before and after the procedure, including relief, pain, calmness, anxiety, and grief—and without proper support, these effects can come with a high risk of jeopardising individuals’ safety. Further, Szuhan stressed “how personal and individuated responses are to pregnancy, and therefore its termination”, and the multiplicity of ways one may be affected.
One potential impact is the “inherent labour involved in the process.” As Szuhan pointed out, “even the most desired pregnancy warrants near-constant psychological and physical investment. [There is a] literal investment of growing a living being, along with the mental preparation for it in all its stages.” Forcing this burden upon someone who does not wish it is a form of cruelty that can have lifelong impacts, particularly given that access to respectful and trauma-informed abortion care has also been threatened. As discussed, abortion can be an emotional and traumatising experience. Previously, US citizens could be assured that doctors were legally obliged to act in their best interests and that they had the option of counselling. Now, abortions in the US may be undertaken by illegitimate practitioners with no legal responsibility to care. No oversight, no one checking safe practices, no one monitoring the person’s mental health, and no one providing abortion aftercare.
While abortion has been fully decriminalised in all of Australia’s jurisdictions as of this year, its accessibility remains a paramount issue. When I asked my mum—a midwife who has worked in Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland—about the potential psychological impacts of abortion inaccessibility, she emphasised the necessity of ease of access during what can already be a traumatic and emotional time. One of the worst cases she dealt with was due to the inaccessibility of abortion in Western Australia, in which the woman in question had to travel alone to Eastern Australia for a medically required abortion. The woman’s emotional distress was sobering for her medical professionals, and she needed extra care to ensure a path to physical and emotional healing. The continued inaccessibility of abortions for regional, rural, and remote Australians makes it clear that our right to an abortion is still not being fulfilled. How is it fair that someone may have to travel hundreds of kilometres, alone, and then fork out hundreds of dollars for a private clinic to access necessary medical care?
Interested in learning more about the history of abortion in post-invasion Australia, I sat down with Frank Bongiorno, Australian historian and author of The Sex Lives of Australians: A History. We discussed the process of legalisation, as well as the history of abortion practises. He explained that abortion has “been widely practised in Australia, [yet] was entangled with police corruption due to its illegality”. The legalisation of abortion varied greatly from state to state. Bongiorno notes that it was “controversially legalised … in South Australia in 1969, yet had many restrictions and accessibility issues”. Abortion became legal in Victoria in 1972 after the R v. Davidson case found a doctor not guilty for providing an abortion based on the woman’s health. In the following decades, abortion was slowly decriminalised in various states through criminal cases that similarly found doctors not guilty.
Bongiorno highlighted the fact that the history of abortion in Australia is filled with activists pushing for its legality and accessibility. In the 1970s, Australian feminist group Women’s Abortion Action Campaign lobbied for “abortion at no cost, with no legal restrictions, no quotas in public hospitals, lots of good clinics run by women, plenty of information about abortion, contraception, and sexuality, no guilt trips, and no discrimination against young, Black, or migrant women”. Fifty years on, discrimination and inaccessibility remain prominent issues in Australia despite the immense efforts of numerous activists. This continuing inaccessibility is recognised and echoed by some politicians, with MP Tanya Plibersek explaining that “for many women, abortions are unaffordable and unattainable. The legal right to access a termination isn’t much use to a homeless teenager when the upfront cost of an abortion is more than $500.”
After speaking with my interviewees for this article, I realised that the overturning of Roe has had a collective impact on our trust in institutions to uphold our rights. For many years, we have experienced a reliable script: issues are fought for, through demonstrations, lobbying, and activism. After decades of campaigning for abortion rights in the US and Australia, it seemed fair to presume that even a small amount of progress had been made; that this work had paid off. But this assumption was naïve. Issues that once felt somewhat overcome are now major anxieties again. The overturning of Roe traps us in a situation where we must question if hard-fought rights and laws will ever be safe.
This is exhausting. For so many—from the activists of the ‘60s and ‘70s who originally fought for these laws, to the current generations grappling with the fact that we must resume this fight—issue fatigue is real. This is why this ruling is of global importance. The fight for safe and legal abortions will never be over. Australia has had a long history of staunch, fearless, trailblazing activism for the legalisation of and safe access to abortion, and this legacy is continuing with the many protestors who stand in solidarity with the US.
Australia’s response to the Roe ruling has been immense, with protestors immediately taking to the streets. Tessa Hemming, one such protest participant, stated the prevailing reason for her attendance was “to stand in solidarity with those in the United States who have had their bodily autonomy taken away”. The “[heartbreak she and others felt] for the women, transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive people whom the overturning impacts” indicates the global empathy for this assault on rights.
In Australia, the fear of conservative politicians restricting abortion access remains similarly present, and this fear is not without precedent. In times of the Howard government, conservative Catholic Senator Brian Harradine used his position to ban the manufacture and use of the abortion drug RU-486 (mifepristone) in Australia. Further, Harradine forged an agreement with the Howard government called the “Family Planning Guidelines”, modelled on the US’ “Mexico City Gag” rule, banning Australian foreign aid from funding organisations that provide abortion-related services. These guidelines were only overturned in 2009.
Hemming stated that, given the potential of “politicians in power getting excited for what is happening in America”, showing up at the protests is vital to send the message that this will not be accepted. The reignited fear of complacency fuels many to fight. While the ruling may not yet directly impact us here in Australia, it demonstrates, as Hemming explained, “[that] we cannot afford to be complacent and feel secure in the laws we have. The assault on rights as seen in the US, and previously in Poland, shows the fragility of a right”.
These protests enable people to reassert their voices in the wake of the fear elicited by the Supreme Court’s decision, and the wide demographic of their attendees signifies the universal impact this ruling has had. “People from all walks of life showed up to chant and march together”, Hemming noted, “mothers with young daughters, older women who fought for our rights before our time, men showing up for the women in their lives, a legion of young women, and a huge amount of queer people”. It is so important to remember the people who have fought this battle for many years, and the continued support from each subsequent generation.
This is why protests must continue, and why advocacy remains vital in Australia. Echoing the petitions of Australia’s 1970s abortion activists, “abortion on demand”—meaning access for all—is still a right we must fight for. As shown by the many protests still occurring, we are not giving up on this right. Drawing from the inspiration and energy of generations before, the fight for legal and accessible abortions will continue despite this heartbreaking global setback.
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