Roe v. Wade: The Implications for Religious and Ethnic Minorities
July 27, 2022 — LAURA BUCHER
On June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling, determining abortion rights, that were guaranteed for nearly 50 years, unconstitutional. Without Roe, 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion, including 13 states with abortion trigger bans already in place. In the last decade, the USA has seen a surge of abortion restrictions; 44% of which were implemented in 2021 alone.
The USA abortion ban represents a massive denial of human rights, including reproductive rights and women’s rights. It undermines the rights of bodily autonomy, reproductive and sexual health, and freedom of religion, to name a few. Evidence has shown that restricting abortion practices increases the rate of unsafe and illegal abortion procedures by 45%, putting the lives of pregnant people at risk. Restrictive abortion policies impact people living in poor areas and with poor health care systems the most. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that out of 5.6 million abortions that happen in developing countries every year, 3.9 million are unsafe. Research has demonstrated that complications from early stage pregnancy are the leading cause of maternal mortality, especially in developing countries. Following this, WHO has shown that removing abortion restrictions reduces the maternal mortality rate.
“Within a country in which a polarised debate between pro-choice and anti-abortion movements is highly vivid, the overturning of Roe v. Wade will absolutely harm women’s rights.”
Within a country in which a polarised debate between pro-choice and anti-abortion movements is highly vivid, the overturning of Roe v. Wade will absolutely harm women’s rights. However, not all women will be affected by this decision evenly. This piece reflects on the repercussion of the law ban on two minority groups: religious minority groups and people of colour.
1. Religious minorities
The United States is a country with over 330 million inhabitants, including the highest number of diverse ethnic groups practising all major religions. Since 2008, people practising ‘nothing in particular’ has increased by 60%. Debate on abortion has created a false binary between people supporting abortion care, and religious people opposing it. The reality is much more diverse, and views on abortion vary widely between, and even within, religious groups. According to Guttmacher Institute, which defends reproductive rights, one in four Americans who have had abortions is Catholic. Christian anti-choice viewpoint has been amplified in the public debate by the media coverage. The current state law on abortion reflects the religious doctrine of one Christian community only. A survey conducted after the announcement of the Roe v. Wade overturn shows that only 45% of Christians think that abortion should be illegal, but the majority of Christians support abortion: a majority of White Protestants (59%), Black Protestants (56%), Roman Catholics (52%) are in favor of abortion in all or most cases.
Moreover, Roe v. Wade overturn denies the right of religious freedom for other religious minorities whose perspective about abortion differs. The majority of non-Christian religious groups support abortion in most or all cases: Jews (70%), Muslims (51%), Buddhists (69%), and Hindus (62%) are in favor of abortion rights.
It is also important to note that the abortion ban hinders the State – Church separation guaranteed by the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause of the US Constitution, which states that the government is banned from passing any law that establishes an official religion or favors one religion over another one. Thus, the current shift towards a Christian nationalisation of the state law increasingly makes the line between the state and the church more blurred, especially for religious minorities.
2. People of colour
The denial of legal abortion will disproportionately impact women of colour. Marginalized women of colour who are subjected to structural inequities such as limited access to health care, health insurance, and low income are more likely to seek an abortion. Recent data indicate that Black women had the highest abortion rate with 23.8 abortions per 1000 women. According to Kaiser Family Foundation, not only Black women, but also other minority ethnic groups, such as Hispanic and American Indian women, have low access to contraceptions and sexual health services, which ultimately result in higher rates of unintended pregnancies. Health insurance coverage and health services are less guaranteed to the black population, causing unequal health treatment. This also produces a higher rate of childbirth complications and maternal mortality for Black women. These disparities in the maternal health care system are a result of poor social and economic factors - known as social determinants of health – such as income, housing, and education, reflecting ethnic disparities, with a significant disadvantage for ethnic minorities.
“Marginalized women of colour who are subjected to structural inequities such as limited access to health care, health insurance, and low income are more likely to seek an abortion.”
Research has shown that 75% of women undergoing abortion belonged to the low-income or poor category. Now, they will have fewer financial resources to travel between states where abortion is still legal to terminate pregnancies. Thus, women of colour will face greater difficulties compared to White women, not only due to the increased costs of abortion procedures, but also as a result of already belonging to low-income or poor categories.
In light of the Roe v. Wade overturn, in the last two weeks we have been monitoring the online discourse and the related toxicity. As the graph shows, the toxicity language score was particularly high in the racism sphere, with a peak of 0.7 (out of 1) at the end of July.
Timeline of average toxicity discussing the Roe v. Wade overturn on Twitter and Tik Tok between 11-07-2022 and 25-07-2022.
The second graph displays how the toxic online comments were divided into different categories. Interestingly, racist comments had the highest hateful language.
Distribution of toxic messages by category. 25-07-2022
The third graph illustrates the most used toxic language discussing Roe v. Wade overturn, with rape, killed, murder, and want to exterminate on the top list.
Top 50 keywords in the EOOH dashboard (threats in bold) discussing the Roe v. Wade overturn on Twitter and Tik Tok.
The decision of the US Supreme Court to strikes down Roe v. Wade impairs not only women’s reproductive freedom, but also the fundamental right to equality, non-discrimination, and health. There is still help that can be done for women around the country in protecting their fundamental rights. Below, we have indicated names of some grassroots and non-profit organisations that strive to ensure the health, reproductive freedom and safety of women. We urge you to consider donating, if you are able to.
Guttmacher Institute is a Research Institution that provides education about reproductive health and access to contraception. You can donate here.
National Black Women’s Reproductive Agenda is an organisation that supports Black women in accessing abortion and reproductive rights. You can donate here.
Brigid Alliance is an organisation that provides practical support such as travel expenses, childcare, and lodging for people with limited financial resources who seek abortions. You can donate here.
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