Will there be more babies available for adoption now that SCOTUS has overturned Roe vs Wade ? We think not, and here is why.
The overturning of Roe Vs Wade , the legal case that gave women the constitutional right to abortion has caused panic fear and anger from many and elation , joy and triumph from others. Those that believe themselves to be in a position to benefit the most from the change are families that are going through the process to adopt , and have seen firsthand how few newborns that there are available, many having persevered the process for many years with few if any opportunities . Unfortunately for those yearning hopefuls, in our opinion , the ruling will most likely not see a wave of unwanted pregnancies that will result in a surplus of available adoption situations and here is why .
Firstly , the ruling does not ban abortion, it merely gives states the right to control their own laws that pertain to the right to terminate a pregnancy . This , of course , means that many states will continue as they have been . It has been noted that since the ruling , a few states have expanded the time allowed to terminate , while others have chosen to eliminate the right altogether. One such state , North Dakota, had only one clinic prior to the ruling . Their solution was to reopen a few miles away in the state of Minnesota , which does allow abortions. A few minutes of additional travel would most likely not deter someone from reaching their goal. In most cases where states have chosen to disallow termination , there is a state within a few hours drive that will accomodate women that are seeking termination . The majority of women, however , that are dealing with an unplanned pregnancy never even get to this point .
Birth control is readily available and affordable . There are methods that can protect a woman from pregnancy for 5 years with just one doctor visit. The majority of women choose birth control to prevent pregnancy , but what about the tiny percentage of women that become pregnant while using contraceptives or those that are not using any ? In those cases , a woman in any state can walk into almost any drug store and purchase the morning after pills which will decrease chance of pregnancy by up to 90%. Most insurance plans will cover it 100% , and for those that do not the pills cost approximately $40.
There are , of course , those that may not have been on birth control , or became pregnant while on it , and then either didn’t take the morning after pill or took it and were one of the very small percentages that still became pregnant . For those cases , there is still the abortion pill, mifepristone. There are organizations, including Planned Parenthood, that administer it until 12 weeks of pregnancy at no cost to the pregnant woman . It is rumored that some states will make it illegal to ship these medications into their states , so it may be that women in states that disallow abortions will need to travel to a state that does in order to obtain mifepristone.
There are going to be women that slip through all of these opportunities and find that they are past the 12 week deadline in order to take the abortion pill. Some will live in states where abortion is legal , others may have to drive a couple of hours away . There are organizations that are forming whose objective is to pay for any travel expenses a pregnant woman may need in order to have an abortion in a state where it is legally allowable.
In a world where the fertility rate is at an all time low , and continues to decline based on many factors , and with the birth control options that are available as well as the options to terminate , we believe that very few women will be affected by the overturning of Roe vs Wade .