Chicken Little once said, “The sky is falling.” For many Americans, this statement is becoming far too accurate.
After months of anticipation, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court made a decision that would send ripples throughout the nation. Despite the majority’s pleas, the landmark ruling of Roe v. Wade was overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Since that day, life in America has drastically changed; conservatism, bigotry and other ignorance-fueled ideologies run rampant, and more people engage with that rhetoric every day.
The Dobbs decision has made America a place unsafe for most, catered to fit only a specific group. To put it simply, life after the Dobbs decision has been trying.
To see this clearly, we’ll first look at the group that Roe v. Wade protected the most.
Roe v. Wade protected the right to have an abortion, stating that the choice to have one belonged to the person, not the government, and was guaranteed by the Constitution. The Dobbs decision overturned this, saying that abortion was not a person’s right, giving control back to the individual states. With this decision, immediate policy changes were made.
Many Republican-led states opted for an outright ban or strict rules on when and how one could terminate a pregnancy.
These laws restricted medical practices, with some states prosecuting those who provided abortion care. As a result, many doctors and medical professionals feared the consequences of potentially saving lives.
This fear led to a woman’s death.
In September of 2024, Amber Nicole Thurman died because she didn’t receive proper healthcare.
Earlier, she had taken an abortion pill, however, there were still remnants of fetal tissue in her body, which led to infection. To fix this, Thurman needed a dilation and curettage (D&C) to remove the tissue from her uterus. However, when she went to get treatment, doctors waited until it was too late, and Thurman tragically passed away.
Georgia had recently made performing the procedure illegal with little exception, giving felony charges to those involved. This is why doctors waited so long to help Thurman. This incident, which could have been prevented through a routine procedure, left a child without a mother and a woman without her life.
Thurman isn’t the only reported case. At least six other women have been reported to have died because of improper care. Without access to proper healthcare, maternal mortality rates will only continue to rise, begging the question, is any of this worth the harm?
Disregarding the direct consequences, the attitude shift from the Dobbs decision is quite clear. One can look at the recent presidential election and the events after for proof of this.
On Nov. 6, 2024, former president Donald Trump was re-elected as president of the United States. Following the results, Popular Conservative Commentator Nick Fuentes went on a “satirical” tirade on social media.
In a clip from his rant, Fuentes taunts women, saying, “Your body, our choice” and “Glass ceiling? Dude, it’s a ceiling made of… bricks; you will never break it.”
Fuentes wasn’t the only person who shared his views, though. After the election, sexism ran rampant on social media platform X, with men repeating Fuentes’ ideology, some even calling for the repeal of the 19th amendment.
However, while now heightened, these ideas have been festering for a while. For years, men have ignored and even ridiculed women’s issues. In fact, a 2024 survey showed that only 1 in 4 women believe that men understand their issues.
The Dobbs decision simply marked a shift in the acceptance of bigoted views.
It is widely known that the overturning of Roe v. Wade was seen as a “win” for conservatives. For years, Pro-Life activists worked to restrict access to abortion care. After achieving their goal, they started voicing their other opinions, too.
Once again, on social media, conservatives doubled down on their views on immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and more. Now, seeing a post promoting conservative ideals, usually in harmful ways, is commonplace. This is to be expected, though, as the CEOs of these platforms are staunch supporters of our current president.
As President Trump enacts more policies first seen in the controversial “Project 2025,” their beliefs will continue to prevail in our justice system. All we can do now is sit and watch.
Overall, life post-Dobbs has been worrying for most people. At the rate things are going, life in America will continue to get worse. As intense as this may sound, many worry about what rights we will lose next.
