2022: The Historic Overturn of Roe v. Wade by Ava Samenuk

2022: The Historic Overturn of Roe v. Wade

Option 2: Describing the overturn of Roe v. Wade from the writing style of Don DeLillo in Libra.

She would have been rolling over in her grave to hear this news. If she could have just hung on a little longer, maybe things would have been different. June 24, 2022 could have been a normal Friday in our lives. We would have finished another week of work and gone on to enjoy our first official summer weekend. 

Instead, a right that many of us women believed should have never even been up for debate was taken away from us. Ruth did not agree with every aspect of Roe v. Wade. No, that would have been too simpleminded of her. Part of why we admire the life of the Supreme Court justice is because she had her own specific beliefs. Beliefs that Ruth stood by even in the midst of her dying days. So yes, she had her own issues with Roe v. Wade. The importance of abortion for her was rooted in gender equality rather than the right to privacy. 

But nonetheless, she believed in its overall message that women have the right to an abortion. September 18, 2020, the death of RBG, was arguably the biggest turning point in the dispute over abortion rights that would eventually lead to the overturn of Roe v. Wade. However, as much as we may love her, we cannot dwell on RBG, as this is a review of 2022.

Alexandra Ocasico-Cortez does not hold back her opinions as the discussion of abortion  rights floods the media. She is a much newer face than our notorious RBG but no less captivating. AOC does not just want women to have the right to choose what to do with their bodies. Why stop there? She urges the men in our society to speak up in support of abortion rights because they too are affected by the decision of abortion. 

The overturn was undoubtedly heartbreaking for someone like AOC who has passionately used her platform to speak on this issue time and time again. To AOC, history took a major step in the wrong direction on June 24th. She does not see anything as final, though. Just as rights can be stripped of us, they can also be given back in the ever changing political world we are living in as Americans. 

The other side. The Amy side. She is a woman. She is a mother. She is against abortion. Amy Coney Barrett holds the same title our beloved RBG once held: Supreme Court Justice of the United States. We cannot talk about the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade without mentioning her. What Amy has in common with Ruth and AOC is her unwavering beliefs that she fights for rigorously. However, they pretty much completely differ on what these beliefs are, especially when it comes to abortion. 

Partially why Amy was chosen as a Supreme Court justice was her stance against the right of women to have an abortion. Many women cannot respect Amy for this very reason, yet some agree with her beliefs completely. That is what makes America so complex, doesn’t it? 

Another agonizing or liberating (depending on how you look at it) part of America is the ability for court cases to be overturned, even years later. Although it may enrage many people that Roe v. Wade even had the ability to be overturned, we must try to see the value in the power of our government to make adjustments as the public opinion changes. One instance is the right for same-sex couples to now get married in the United States. 

Nothing is truly final. This fact can give us hope for the parts of our world we disagree with, but it can also keep us up at night wondering what changes will be made to our rights depending on who is in charge. “History” is quite an interesting term because is anything ever really cemented into history?