The recent U.S. 2024 presidential election has sparked speculation and questions about what this means for women worldwide.
The US election saw President-elect Donald Trump back in the white house ‘running the show’; this time, he will be in a position of more power. Trump has been outspoken over his views on women for many years, some worse than others, precisely his views on abortion. He said he was proud to have been a part of the overruling of the Roe VS Wade rights that protected the American women’s rights to have an abortion. Now, he is saying he will not sign a federal ban on women to have an abortion but will leave it up to the states to decide. However, when asked whether he would veto a national ban, he has chosen not to comment.
A brief history of abortion rights in the US is it started in 1969 when a woman named Norma McCorvey, who went by Jane Roe during the trials to protect her identity, challenged the abortion laws in Texas. Henry Wade defended the anti-abortion laws. Hence, the trial name is Roe v Wade. In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that the American government have no right to prohibit abortion. But on June 24th, 2022, the court overruled Roe VS Wade. This meant that fewer women in America have the right to an abortion, with 13 states currently entirely banning anyone the right to have an abortion and 21 states with tightened restrictions. This number is set to grow with Trump back in charge.
As many women are concerned with how Trump views women, he has previously made disrespectful comments about women’s bodies. Still also, while his candidate Kamala Harris was running against Trump, he made multiple comments about her intelligence and her actions related to the Southern US Border. Saying she should be “impeached and prosecuted,” showing hypocrisy considering his numerous convictions and charges.
With that being said, what will this mean for women’s rights moving forward? Is society starting to make a turn backwards? With the current news on women in Afghanistan and the fact the UK government has issued ‘violence against women’ a national threat, many are concerned society may be moving backwards to when women were given no rights, to a time of inequality regarding how men were treated considerably better than women. We can already see changes in society that suggest a recession.
By Jadeine
Boston High School Newsroom