The Reversal of Roe v. Wade is Abusive to Women

The U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, upheld for a half-century, no longer exists. Abortion will not be available in large swaths of the country. The court decision means that young women today will have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers. Abortion is a matter to be decided by states and the voters in the states, not to be decided by individual women. The court’s opinion means that from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A state can force her to bring a pregnancy to term regardless of the condition/circumstances of her pregnancy, wishes, or ability to raise a child. Let’s be clear. This is a demonstration of power and control over women. This is abuse.

Power and control are the hallmarks of batterers who dominate their partners. The reversal of Roe v. Wade can be seen as public policy designed to dominate women’s autonomy and is therefore abusive. Both public policy and private abuse aim to exert power and control over their partners.

Tactics of power and control include the following: (Because the reversal of Roe v. Wade specifically affects women, I am using women rather than men in this analogy. I fully acknowledge that power and control is not gender-specific.)

• Using coercion and threats – Makes and/or carries out threats to hurt women or report/embarrass/out them to an agency or others.
• Using emotional abuse – Makes women feel bad about themselves, humiliates them, and makes them feel guilty or ashamed.
• Using isolation – Controls what women do, who they see, what they read, where they go, and who they talk to. Limits their volunteer, religious or outside activities and monitors their behavior and communication.
• Minimizing, Denying, and Blaming – Doesn’t take women’s concerns seriously. Denies abuse ever happened and shifts blame for the abuse.
• Using children – Uses children to manipulate and dominate.
• Using privilege – Treats women like servants. Acts like the “head of the household.”  Makes all the big decisions. Defines each person’s role in the relationship.
• Using economic abuse – Prevents them from getting or keeping a job. Makes them ask for money, gives them an allowance, or takes their money

For further information on the Power and Control see https://www.theduluthmodel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/PowerandControl.pdf

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, women’s human rights include the rights to equality, dignity, autonomy, information and bodily integrity and respect for private life, and the highest attainable standard of health, including sexual and reproductive health, without discrimination, as well as the right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. The right of a woman or girl to make autonomous decisions about her own body and reproductive functions are at the very core of her fundamental right to equality and privacy.

Stripping women of fundamental rights is abusive and must be changed on the public and personal levels. Vote!