I’m sitting at my desk on September 8, 2022, trying to figure out a good opening topic for my first column of the school year. It’s been about three months since I’ve written, and I want to start with a bang — something exciting, fun, interesting, and engaging. But to be completely honest, I don’t think that’s possible right now. While reflecting on my time off from school, I only have one sentence that continues to come to my mind: it has definitely been a difficult summer to be a woman.
On Friday, June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which has been an essential part of keeping abortion a federal right in this country for half a century. Roe v. Wade occurred in 1973, in which the Supreme Court decided that reproductive decision-making lies with other fundamental rights, such as freedom of speech. The overturning of Roe v. Wade marks the first time in history that the Supreme Court has taken away a fundamental right. For women across the country, this Friday at the end of June marks an extremely difficult day in history.
The response to this decision was something unlike I’ve ever seen before. Thousands of protests occurred across the country, fighting for women to gain full access to their bodies. On July 9 in Washington, D.C about 10,000 individuals marched through the pouring rain and risked arrest to protest the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Lauren Pierce, an attorney from Dallas, traveled to the east coast to take part. She states, “There’s nothing, to me, more worth fighting for than this cause – our fundamental right to have bodily autonomy. If that means taking up space and getting arrested then I think it’s worth it.” I wholeheartedly agree with her.
As a New Jersey citizen, I feel very lucky that Governor Murphy has made a public statement that abortion will be permitted in our state. But, this is not the case across the country—States such as Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri have criminalized and banned abortion entirely.
Now, women are forced to travel to other states and locations to receive an abortion if needed, which is not feasible for many individuals. Multiple companies have announced they will now offer travel benefits for employees in need, including but not limited to Amazon, Starbucks, Target, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Buzzfeed, and more.
For the Stevens community, Instagram page @StevensStudents shared various resources that can assist students and faculty. Stevens Student Health Services “provides free pregnancy testing, assistance in finding local OB/GYNs, assistance in finding resources for pregnancy termination and adoption, and offers prescription birth control options.” The post also includes information on adoption, reproductive health, and family planning.
Well, that was certainly a lot of information for my first column of the school year. I got pretty frustrated writing this, but this information must be shared and publicized so we can do our best to change the course. Sharing resources, information, and support is a great start to helping women across the country, or even just to help the women in your community. Other ways to help include: voting, donating, sharing your story, and educating yourself.
If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, please visit https://www.plannedparenthood.org/.
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