22 West Magazine - 2022 May Issue

Page 14

OPINION

BY LAUREN GALVAN

Losing Reproductive Rights THE FIGHT FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS IS NEVER ENDING

T

he war on reproductive rights has been an ongoing debate for decades now. However, the time has finally come when we must face the reality of it possibly getting overturned. Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision from 1973 that helps protect a women’s right to an abortion and privacy, is currently under fire with serious talks of it being overturned sometime between May and July of 2022. But, what does this mean for the future of reproductive rights in the U.S.?

“It’s a very scary thing,” Juana Garcia, a political science major and women’s gender and sexuality studies minor, said. “If it were to get overturned, it would be up to each state to choose if abortion would be legal or not because it is a federal law.” States would have the option to make it a crime to get an abortion, or even assist someone with getting an abortion, according to Garcia. Of course, states could also decide to uphold this decision

and continue to allow this reproductive right. Garcia is not only involved in politics on the Long Beach State University campus, but she is also an activist for reproductive justice and social justice. In fact, she has fought for the right of women to have access to the abortion pill on CSU and UC campuses. According to Garcia, we won’t see much of a change in California, however, we might see an influx of people moving to the state and to other states that choose to uphold abortion rights. Although California will stay the same, a handful of states have already begun banning abortion and

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