No matter what side of the political arena you’re on, we can all agree that there is a lot at stake in the 2020 election. One of the biggest things at stake is a significant change to the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on Sept. 18, 2020, leaving an empty seat on the court. Thousands of people mourned her loss and celebrated her incredible achievements as the second woman to ever fill a seat on the Supreme Court, as well as her unassailable history of fighting for equal protection under the law and civil rights. Ginsburg was known for her dissenting opinions in several cases. There were cases that did not always side in her favor, but her dissent gave a voice to the people on the other side and showed there was someone in power who agreed with them, who sympathized with them and who would use her voice to fight for them. One of her more famous dissents was written in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores (2014) which determined that “family-owned and other closely held companies cannot be forced to offer insurance coverage for certain birth control methods they equate with abortion.” In the 5-4 case’s dissenting opinion, she wrote “Approving some religious claims while deeming others unworthy of accommodation could be perceived as favoring one religion over another, the very risk the Establishment Clause was designed to preclude. The court, I fear, has ventured into a minefield.” RBG advocated for equal protections under the law, a specific precedent cited in Roe v. Wade.

Amongst RBG’s last wishes was to not replace her until after the election, but Republicans are fighting hard against these wishes. President Trump has nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill RBG’s missing seat. If Barrett is elected, the court will then sit at a 6-3 conservative lead which puts a particular Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, at stake because conservatives tend to disagree with it. Roe v. Wade, decided in 1973, was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled in a 7-2 decision that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction based on the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment dictates that “no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” In terms of abortion, the 14th Amendment provides a “right to privacy” that protects a pregnant woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.

Anti-abortion activists and anti-abortion states such as Texas, Alabama and Louisiana have put precedents in their state laws that directly violate this decision in the hopes that the potential conservative lead on the court will be forced to revisit the landmark decision and potentially overturn it. An example of these violations is a heartbeat or fetal heartbeat bill — a controversial form of abortion restriction law which makes abortions illegal as soon as an embryonic or fetal heartbeat can be detected. North Dakota passed a heartbeat bill in 2013, becoming the first state to do so. The heartbeat bills are controversial because they ban abortion as early as six weeks of gestation, a point when many women may not yet realize they are pregnant. The heartbeat bills have faced immediate court challenges, in particular by the ACLU, but they have already provided a potential path to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. With Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s controversial nomination last year, and the potential nomination of Barrett, anti-abortion activists are energized to see the right to abortion overturned or at least undermined. But what does this mean for women across the country? For women in about half of the states across the country, their rights to abortion would still be protected. For example, New York enacted the Reproductive Health Act on Jan. 22, 2019, which expanded abortion rights, decriminalized abortion and eliminated several restrictions on abortion in the state. In other words, even if the court does overturn Roe v. Wade, which is the worst-case scenario, New York women will still be guaranteed their right to abortion. However, for the women who don’t live in states like New York, their right to abortion is at a high risk and could be completely decimated.

Abortion is a highly emotional subject that excites deeply held opinions. However, equal access to safe abortion services is not only a woman’s right but a human right. Where abortion is safe and legal, no one is forced to have one, but having the option is beneficial in many circumstances. Where abortion is illegal and unsafe, women are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term or suffer serious health consequences and even death. According to the Human Rights Watch, “approximately 13 percent of maternal deaths worldwide are attributable to unsafe abortions — between 68,000 and 78,000 deaths annually.” Pro-choice activists contend that we should regard women as people and not just as a container for the fetus. Therefore, we should give great consideration to the woman’s rights and needs as well as those of the unborn. It is important to note that pro-choice women’s rights activists do not take a casual approach to abortion — the opposite is usually true. Most activists acknowledge that choosing an abortion is usually a case of choosing the least bad of several bad courses of action.

If Barrett fills the seat on the Supreme Court, it gives a 6-3 lead to the conservatives, who do not support the right to abortion. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, millions of people living in states that make abortions nearly impossible would be “forced to travel to receive legal care, which would result in many people being unable to access abortion for a variety of financial and logistical reasons.” There would be an increase in movements to defund Planned Parenthood, which provides a host of other services besides abortions, like STD testing and treatment, birth control, cancer screenings, pap tests, vaccines, pregnancy services and even prenatal care. However, abortion opponents continue to attack abortion access and rights in their quest to overturn precedent and harm millions of women. The Constitution has not changed, the 14th Amendment has not faltered and abortion’s significance for equality, dignity and personal decision-making has not changed. The only things that may have changed are the views of those who are confirmed to sit on the Supreme Court. But fear not, some good news remains — activists are doing what they can to secure the right for as many women as possible. The Center for Reproductive Rights will work to ensure that abortion remains legal and accessible throughout the United States and its territories. Please vote if you have not done so already — too much is at stake in this election not to.

Clarissa Del Re is a senior majoring in English