On May 2, Politico, a political journalism company, leaked a copy of the Supreme Court’s initial draft majority opinion. This draft, written by Justice Samuel Alito, intends to overturn the decision made in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion across the country. According to Politico, four other justices- Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Barrett- voted to overrule Roe v. Wade during their private conference. Though their decision is to be finalized in late June, this exposé, which was later confirmed to be authentic by the Court, has startling implications for all women in America if the court’s majority vote does not change. With states having control over the extent of abortion rights, half of the states in the U.S. could potentially criminalize abortion if Roe is repealed. The mass concern and protests that have ensued is rightfully justified, as the crackdown on Roe puts the lives of many women at risk and infringes upon an inherent right that belongs to women, not the government.

According to the New York Times, 33.6 million women of reproductive age live in states that would ban or greatly restrict access to abortion. This means 33.6 million women will be forced to travel to other states, order abortion pills, or illegally resort to self-induced abortion if they want to get an abortion. Abortion clinics, which provide safe abortion services, will not be available to these women unless they are able to travel out of state, a luxury that many, especially teenagers and lower-income women, cannot afford. Furthermore, Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit organization that focuses on reproductive healthcare, notes that an abortion pill can cost as much as $750. Again, such a financial barrier disproportionately affects lower-income women and further drives inaccessibility to safe abortions. Backed into a corner, many women will contemplate and go forth with self-induced abortions or unsafe abortions. As a result, the risks of maternal death, complications from unsafe abortions, and disabilities would drastically increase; women’s lives are being jeopardized because their access to safe abortions is being taken away. It isn’t as if people are unable to connect the dots between an abortion ban and a rise in unsafe abortions. The problem is that those in power who push for an abortion ban are aware of the repercussions it will have on women, including the increased likelihood of death, and evidently, do not care.

The fact that the reproductive freedoms of women are being regulated by a court dominated by men speaks volumes in itself. No matter how qualified they may be, men should not be able to make decisions about a woman’s body, simply because they have never gone through the same reproductive experience as women. As the saying goes, you know yourself best. And women know what’s best for their body. Forcing more women to carry unwanted pregnancies directly violates their right to the pursuit of happiness. There are so many different circumstances, from being unable to financially provide for a child to simply not wanting a child at that point in life. Giving women no choice but to give birth is, in so many ways, an abuse of power that does not take into account what women may want for their future.

In short, the leak of the Supreme Court’s majority opinion draft that seeks to overturn Roe v. Wade is a threat to all women’s reproductive freedoms- though this is a debate that never should’ve occurred. An abortion ban not only opposes the longstanding American value of freedom of choice but endangers the lives of women. Many consider abortion to be a dissent revolving ethics and morality, but knowingly enforcing policies that put women, fellow American citizens, at risk of death is just about as immoral as you can get.