Kathleen Ralls
Empowerment Leader | Author | Fulbright Scholar | Award-winning Educator | Advisory Council
Massachusetts, United States
Overturning Roe v. Wade has had major ramifications on health care on women in the U.S., especially those without healthcare or with limited financial resources. We are seeing women unable to access the medical care they need to survive and thrive because abortion has been outlawed in their state and they don’t have the means to travel to another state where abortion is legal. The inequity from state to state is incomprehensible.
There is also the concern that these limitations will spread to other aspects of women’s health such as IVF and egg donors.
The challenge of changing political belief systems is one that won’t change in three years, but I think the more women speak up and share their stories, the faster progress is made. Stories humanize issues and can remove stigmas and dangerous assumptions that allow for exclusionary or othering practices.
Women’s health is very much influenced by government and will remain dependent upon it as long as society views women’s health as a public issue and not a private matter. If abortions are covered by private health insurance and Medicaid, then more patients will be able to afford the general care they need. I live in a state where abortion is legal and my legislature is a woman who supports the rights of all women, not just the issues that pertain to her. We need to continue to encourage more women to get involved in politics and with social activism in a way that works for them.
