When a draft supreme court decision was leaked in May showing that judges intended to overturn Roe v Wade, many in the UK reacted with outrage. Rightly so: such a law change would leave abortion rules up to individual states. Rights groups estimate that abortion could become illegal in about half the states if this is successful. Americans would be forced to travel to states where it was still legal, or order costly abortion medicine online, risking severe legal consequences by doing so. Overturning Roe v Wade would probably also inspire anti-choice campaign groups to pursue legal action elsewhere in the world.
It can be easy, in the UK, to look to the US with horror, while overlooking the abortion access issues closer to home. We have a habit of importing American discourse into the UK. It’s understandable: the states are so huge and culturally influential that everything that happens there can feel weighted with great significance and the potential for a kind of butterfly effect. The issues with abortion in the UK are different, and less drastic than a full legal overhaul. But they are nonetheless significant. Practical difficulties with access have a major impact on the lives and choices of people in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
