Roe vs. Wade conundrum: Africa must increase commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights

Abstract

On June 24, 2022¹ the Supreme Court of the United States took the majority decision to overturn the 1973 Roe vs Wade landmark ruling² that had made abortion legal and accessible to women.  This recent counter ruling has now made it possible for any State in the United States to ban abortion. The ruling allows States to decide the extent to which they would allow the practice of safe abortion care in their jurisdictions. Although Mississippi was the State that challenged the rights enshrined in Roe vs. Wade³, which led to this retrogressive decision, it is expected that 25 other States, mainly Republican States, will follow by introducing abortion restrictions immediately or in the next couple of weeks or months.

The African Journal of Reproductive Health had repeatedly predicted this unfortunate outcome, given the acrimony and vehemence that abortion had generated in political debates in the United States over the past couple of years. In two editorials at the onset of President Trump and President Biden's elections into offices^4,5, we cautioned that sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially the rights of women to choose on essential reproductive health issues are inalienable rights and ought to be protected to ensure equality and social justice for all. Following recent development when a US Supreme Court memo leaked that the Roe vs Wade landmark decision may be overturned, the journal also appealed that apart from the United States, this decision has the possibility to exert negative consequences on women in other settings⁶.

Now that the ostensible impossibility has happened, the purpose of this editorial is two-fold: first, to further reaffirm the danger the ruling poses for the African continent, and secondly, to advice African countries, not to deter in their commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and social justice and equality for women.