The Class of 2022 to be sent off to college

amid uncertainty surrounding the stability

of Roe. Wade

By Savannah Butcher, Managing Editor

The past few months have been a swirl of uncertainty surrounding the recent leak of the alleged Roe v. Wade decision, a decision that would hand the legislating power regarding abortion access back to the states. As the class of 2022 begins to disperse across the country, some to states looking at changing abortion legislation, the impact of the decision feels more personal than ever.

On May 2, 2022 Politico obtained and published a leaked draft of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) alleged decision to overturn the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade which among other things, protects a person’s right to an abortion. Following the leak, multiple states introduced trigger laws that would repeal the right to an abortion fully or with increased restrictions and would go into effect when the court decision is announced.

Uproar surrounding the leaked SCOTUS draft has echoed around the country, all the way from the Oval Office, where President Joe Biden said “I believe that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental. Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned,” to Vashon Island where protestors stood on all four corners in town and were met with honks from those driving by.

It can be easy to feel disconnected on Vashon though. We are privileged. If I needed an abortion, I know where I would get one. Washington State’s Constitution clearly states that “Every woman has the fundamental right to choose or refuse to have an abortion…” And when I head to college this fall, I am also extremely privileged, I am going somewhere that has safe abortion legislaion already in place. But I have many classmates moving to states without those protections. Although I’m very grateful for my state government and healthcare access, it feels like the bare minimum. And it is. The fact that the basic human right of not having a child is being debated by people who will never have to deal with the decision themselves is infuriating.

I am 18, on the verge of graduating high school, about to enter “the real world,” and ready to begin the next chapter of my life. A chapter of my life where I should gain more autonomy over my life, not less.

Abortion is a human right, and we need to protect women’s right to choose.