By: TheresaChristine Etim
Citizens continue to reflect on the currently checkered state of abortion rights in the United States after the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24th, 2022.
This is following a second executive order by President Joe Biden aimed at protecting abortion rights for women all over the county.
The first, was an order that protected certain specific rights to aid in abortions, such as medical care for abortion-seekers, as well as deeming it illigal for any law officials to incrinnate women seeking an abortion.
The second one, was an order signed August 3, 2022, which required medicare to cover all out of state abortions, should a woman seeking an aborting has to travel states to obtain one.
While the theory of a second executive order protecting abortion rights looks good on paper, not everyone is thrilled about it.
One of those people is 34 year-old PhD student Deadra Willis who sees the second executive order as the first one, more of the same.
“When I hear of this second executive order, I just think, ‘yawn,’ Willis said. “It’s very weak.”
Willis lamented that she would like to see more aggressive chage from the Biden administration, such as fighting for abortion acess for all.
“I think abortions should be considered no matter what the conditions are,” she said.
If there’s a person that this issue strikes a personal chord with, it’s definitely Willis, who had undergone a procedure a few years ago after a medical illness compromised her health during an unexpected pregnancy.
One of her resources that got her through that time was Planned Parenthood, a non profit organization that helps women with their reproductive health. They also do consultations with couples and parents, provide STD testing, help individuals with starting gender assignment and help individuals with steps to plan to conceive a family.
While Planned Parenthood offers a variety of reproductive health, the non profit is mostly highlighted for aiding in, and facilitating abortions. This is usually much to the dismay or relief those that are involved in abortion rights, depending on whether they are pro-life or pro-choice.
Some Planned Parenthoods have stopped facilitating abortions all together follwing the Supreme Court overturn, according to a staffer from a greater Houston area clinic who chose not to be named.
“Our paticular office doesn’t do abortions anymore,” she said.
While it’s unclear what the future of abortion rights will be in the United States, women still consider Planned Parenthood a viable source of support for other points of their reproductive health, which Willis wishes people would understand about the non profit.
“Abortion is not a ‘get out of jail free’card like people think it is,” she said. “People think that’s how it’s used and while some women might do that, that’s their prerogative, their right. But for a lot of us it’s a very emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually taxing process. Planned Parenthood understands that and the process was treated that way. I didn’t have to explain myself if I didn’t want to, because it’s a hard thing to talk about and they understood that. The way it was handled was with so much care.”
She also wishes that the experience of an abortion was painted in a more realistic way that highlighted sometimes uncomfortatlble moments.
“People think it’s easy, but there’s also a face of abortion that is not represented,” she said. “A man, a woman, a couple who would like to keep the child is forced not to, and there is a mental, physical and emotional toll that comes with that. God is used to champion people who are against abortion, but not for people who are pro-abortion, I think God is in both [situations]. God steps in and takes care of you and you can see God’s compassion in [pro-abortion access and situations].”
Administrative assistant Yvonne Robinson agreed that God is in those situations as well.
“I don’t think anyone really wants to make that type of decision on their own.” she said. “No one really wants to decide that, but God will always point us to the right direction in hard times. God is everywhere.”
With the Supreme Court leaving abortion access up to the states, some states have already restricted access all together. A full list of how each state is affected is on abcnews.com and can be accessed by clicking the hyperlink below.
