The likely decision of the Supreme Court to overturn Roe. V Wade is devastating for American women.

Rejecting a long-established precedent, the Court is likely to return us to pre-1973 days when women of means traveled out of state or to another country to get an abortion while poor women resorted to self-inflicted abortions or the back street—with horrific results.        

As a consequence of this decision, many unfortunate women will be forced to bear children they don’t want or can’t care for. Others will die. 

Justices supporting this decision say that the word “abortion” appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. Shamefully, neither do the words “woman” and “women,” whose value and rights to privacy and personal autonomy this decision would trample.

The League of Women Voters of South Carolina has long supported women’s access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare and women’s rights to make the most intimate and personal decisions that are best for themselves and their families.

In the days to come, South Carolina’s General Assembly will be deciding whether to address new and more extreme abortion restrictions in a special session. The Governor and some legislators have indicated that the fetal “heartbeat” bill passed in 2021 is not enough to satisfy them: they wish to enact laws prohibiting all abortions, without exclusions. 

As the overturning of Roe v. Wade appears imminent, we know that--regardless of our legislature’s timing--now is the time to act.  Our governor and mostly male state senators and representatives need to hear from legions of us that we will not sit quietly by as they turn the clock back fifty years.  

On May 14, reproductive justice organizations will hold events across the country with the goal of turning out 10 million people. LWVUS is partnering at the national level. Find an event near you. 

Stay tuned. Public events to make our voices heard are planned in the near future.