To some, today serves as a reminder of a catastrophic decision. To others, it is a day of celebration.
On the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's monumental Roe v. Wade decision, students and advocates are reflecting on the past and future of abortion.
"This anniversary is a tragedy for us," said Kristen Hemker, legislative liaison for Right to Life of Michigan. "It's a time to commemorate the millions of lives lost or affected by this decision that 30 years ago was handed down by just a few justices."
The case of Roe v. Wade began in 1973 when a pregnant unmarried woman named Norma McCorvey sued then Texas Attorney General Henry Wade for the right to have an abortion. At the time, Texas outlawed abortions unless it was needed to save a woman's life.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of McCorvey, legalizing abortions within the first and second trimesters of pregnancies nationwide.
"Governments should stay out of people's personal business," said Jay Khandekar, co-president of MSU Students for Choice, who is celebrating the decision today.
The pregnant woman "is the one who will be carrying it for nine months and she is the one who should be making the decision," he said.
The anniversary of the decision should be used to analyze legislative attempts to limit reproductive rights and honor those who gained them, said Preeti Prasad, co-president of MSU Students for Choice.
"It's not only in honor of those who've suffered from illegal abortions, but the doctors who've provided them for us," the political science and women's studies senior said. "We're realizing that we need to stop the movement away from reproductive rights for women."
The annual number of U.S. abortions in 2000 was at the lowest level since 1974, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit reproductive health research group. That year, there were 21.3 abortions per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44, a decrease some say is due to an increase in technology and humanity.
"People have discovered that the wonder of abortion is just a big lie," said Kathy Savard, president of MSU Students for Life. "Women are starting to understand that abortion will not solve their problems. The ultrasound also brought a new attitude. You're able to see the baby's face and people are starting to understand more about life before birth."
But Prasad said the decrease is due to fear of anti-abortion sentiment, an increase in sex education and lack of access to abortions.
The number of physicians' offices, clinics and hospitals where abortions are performed declined 11 percent from 1996 to 2000, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute.
"I think people are scared to have an abortion, scared to go the clinic, scared of protesters," Prasad said. "I can never guess what's going on in a woman's head when she's going to get an abortion.
"It just makes it worse when she's getting screamed at."
Both sides agree that the ruling, which has survived three decades of public debate, could be overturned.
That's good news to Savard, who said the 1973 decision was a mistake.
"It was a dark time in the history of America," she said. "Considering that our generation is more pro-life and that we've seen the many consequences, Roe v. Wade will be overturned."
The high court is currently split 5-4 in favor of abortion rights, with speculation that many of the justices who first decided the case could retire in the near future.
"It's more likely the people who replace the justices aren't going to be pro-choice and it's a scary thought," Prasad said. "By making abortion illegal I think we would be returning to an area of massive back-alley abortions. I wouldn't expect the number of abortions would drop. It's very dangerous."
The overturn wouldn't be so dangerous to Hemker.
"There will never be a permanent solution," she said. "Women need to demand more. They deserve better than abortion."
Kendra Snyder can be reached at snyderk6@msu.edu.
