Reversing Roe would be un-American

It’s Mother’s Day in the U.S., which means that women across the country this morning are receiving scented candles and overpriced charm bra [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( It’s Mother’s Day in the U.S., which means that women across the country this morning are receiving [scented candles]( and overpriced [charm bracelets](. Here are a few ideas for better gifts: Perhaps we can add a few more choice items for this year, like an end to the alarming [baby formula shortage]( and the continuance of a right to abortion. A shock wave rippled through America last week when a draft opinion from Justice Samuel Alito became public. The ruling makes a full-throated case for repealing Roe v. Wade, castigating the 7-2 decision from 49 years ago in caustic terms. For many American women, it came as a punch in the gut. Losing reproductive rights stings even more in the country with the highest maternal death rate of any rich nation. Over half of these women die in the six weeks after their babies are born. As Therese Raphael writes, it’s common for women in other countries to have access to affordable health care and paid maternity leave, and for a nurse to make home visits to new mothers. All are [rare as hen’s teeth]( in the U.S., where nearly half of women have trouble paying their medical bills, 1 in 5 moms return to work [within 10 days of giving birth](, and the standard of postpartum care is a perfunctory six-week checkup to pick out a new method of birth control. Without investing more in improving maternal health care, an abortion ban is likely to result in [more maternal deaths](. And as with so many things in the U.S., non-White women are disproportionately at risk: Poor women, who are much more likely to seek abortions, are also especially likely to suffer. Allison Schrager writes that the average woman who seeks an abortion is poor, in her 20s and already has at least one child. For her, losing access to abortion will make her more likely to drop out of school and [fall further into poverty](. One concrete step the FDA could take now to help, says Lisa Jarvis, is to [drop its additional restrictions]( on abortion pills, which are safe and effective through 10 weeks of pregnancy. Although the Supreme Court has [a long history]( at the center of the country’s politics, writes Stephen Carter, the leak of Alito’s draft opinion was [an outrage]( that left court-watchers agog. Noah Feldman says there’s still a chance that someone less extreme than Alito — perhaps Justice Brett Kavanaugh — [writes a concurrence]( that becomes the controlling majority opinion. Even so, most observers now expect Roe to be overturned, with profound implications for women’s health, privacy rights, and other personal liberties codified in the half-century Roe has been law. That’s reason enough to [keep Roe on the books](, even if you think the legal reasoning behind it wasn’t especially sound, as Clive Crook argues. Whatever form it takes, however, the court’s final ruling is widely expected to make abortion rights subject to state law. Nearly half the states are set to ban abortion immediately: Politically, this could be an earthquake. It’s not clear how it will influence the 2022 midterms or the 2024 presidential election, writes Jonathan Bernstein, but what is clear — and has been for decades — is that [most Americans support access to abortion](, even if they also support some degree of restrictions. Despite this, he says, we can expect Republicans to [try to enact]( a federal ban on abortion the next time they control Congress and the White House — even if it means weakening or eliminating the filibuster. Ramesh Ponnuru [doesn’t think]( a federal ban will happen, but that’s cold comfort to the [32 million women]( who live in abortion-banning states and just lost control of one of the most profound personal decisions they might ever have to make. An America in which abortion is illegal in half the states — and maybe, one day, across the entire country — puts women in a terrible position and makes online privacy even more essential, argues Parmy Olson. What’s the first thing you do when you have a medical issue? You Google it, of course. In a post-Roe future, women will have to get used to searching for information on, say, abortion pills [using VPNs or the dark web](, communicating about their plans using WhatsApp or other encrypted channels like dissidents in the [Republic of Gilead](. Changing the momentum on abortion rights will take organization, says Julianna Goldman. She says Democrats should follow [the successful playbook of Stacey Abrams](, who organized marginalized voters and got them to actually show up at the polls through grassroots efforts, rather than shouting about the filibuster or relying on mass protests. And Bloomberg founder Michael R. Bloomberg writes that the pro-choice majority in the Senate — which includes two Republicans — will [have to decide]( whether the filibuster is more important than women’s fundamental rights. They’ve got extra incentive to do so, because as Clara Ferreira Marques points out, [women’s rights are the canary in the coal mine of democracy](. The countries that go backward on reproductive rights often go backward on a whole host of other issues, including free and fair elections: think Iran, Russia, China, Poland, Nicaragua. That’s not company the U.S. wants to keep. Notes: To contact the author of this newsletter, email Sarah Green Carmichael at sgreencarmic@bloomberg.net. This is the Theme of the Week edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a digest of our top commentary published every Sunday. Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022