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photo by Richard Lord

Thirty-five years ago in 1973, women in the United States won the right to a safe, legal abortion when the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade. In its ruling, the court recognized for the first time that the constitutional right to privacy “is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”

The effect Roe v. Wade had on the United States was dramatic: thousands of women’s lives were saved when injuries and deaths from unsafe abortion decreased to close to zero. Before 1965, nearly 17 percent of U.S. deaths related to childbirth and pregnancy were caused by unsafe, illegal abortions, according to Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Along with saving women’s lives, Roe v. Wade was a major milestone for women’s rights. It was, and still is, an affirmation of women’s right to decide whether or when to have children. But some women are effectively denied this right as a result of state and federal government bans on public funding for abortion and a dearth of abortion providers because of threat of violence and onerous regulations on facilities. According to recent data from the Guttmacher Institute, 87 percent of all U.S. counties, accounting for more than 30 percent of women aged 15-44, lacked an abortion provider in 2005. How can you exercise your rights when you don’t have access to services?

“Laws are important but services are what make the difference,” says Charlotte Hord Smith, director of policy for Ipas. “Legality doesn’t translate into access for lots of Americans.”

Socioeconomic status also plays a role in restricting American women’s access to abortion. In 1973, Roe v. Wade gave all American women the right to abortion services—for three years. But in 1976, the passage of the Hyde Amendment effectively took that right away from women who rely on publicly funded health programs, such as Medicaid, because it prohibits these programs from covering abortion, except in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.

Before the Hyde Amendment, federal Medicaid covered over one-third of all abortions. Since 1977 it has paid for virtually none. Bans on abortion funding most severely affect poor women, women of color and young women. In fact, according to the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF), the cost of a first-trimester abortion can be more than a poverty-level family lives on in a month.

“Thousands of women are denied their right to abortion, simply because they don’t have the money to pay for abortion care, says Sarah Horsley, communications and campaigns director for the NNAF), an organization with which Ipas has joined to sponsor the Hyde: 30 Years is Enough! Campaign.

So despite the landmark nature of Roe v. Wade, not all American women have equal ability to obtain a safe, legal abortion. And 35 years later, the right of all American women to make decisions about their reproductive health is at risk. The Bush administration’s anti-choice crusade, which seeks to increase/expand policies such as the Hyde Amendment, has been bolstered by legislative assaults at both the state and federal levels. In many states, women are forced to cross state lines or travel far distances for abortion because of restrictive local laws or a lack of providers, according to information from Mapping Our Rights, a project sponsored by Ipas, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force  and the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective. In addition, women seeking emergency contraception have been denied by pharmacists. Abstinence-only education has taken hold of the American school system, leaving a void where there should be practical information about contraception and pregnancy.

And worldwide data shows that, in contrast to conservative ideas espoused by President Bush and his anti-choice colleagues, making abortion services illegal does not prevent abortions from happening – it only prevents women from receiving safe, high-quality services. A study published in The Lancet in October 2007 found that global abortion rates in countries with restrictive abortion laws are similar to countries with more liberal laws. In countries with restrictive laws, however, women are much more likely to die or be injured from unsafe abortion services.

In a country with one of the highest global rates of adolescent pregnancies, and where half of all pregnancies are unplanned, access to high-quality safe abortion is critical. “Roe v. Wade was a major step forward for women’s reproductive rights, and we must do everything possible to protect it. At the same time, it is imperative that the right to safe abortion services be extended to all women, regardless of geography or economics,” says Ipas President Elizabeth Maguire.

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For more information, contact media@ipas.org