"Patients in Tears" Hospitals Closing Due to US Abortion Rights Repeal...Global Figures Say "Taking Away Bodily Autonomy"

New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern: "Abortion Is a Woman's Choice"
NBA & WNBA: "Women Should Be Able to Make Decisions About Their Health and Future Themselves"

On the 3rd of last month (local time), protesters held signs reading "Legalize Abortion" in front of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington DC. Photo by AP, Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Se-eun] As the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling that recognized women's right to abortion, some hospitals are canceling abortion surgeries in droves. This is because performing abortion surgeries in states where abortion is banned can lead to punishment.

On the 24th (local time), AP News reported that hospitals in states such as Alabama, Oklahoma, Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Louisiana stopped performing abortion surgeries immediately after the Supreme Court's ruling was announced.

According to the BBC, a hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas, closed its doors as soon as the Supreme Court's decision was made public.

Hospital staff were busy making cancellation calls to patients. A nurse said, "No matter how prepared you are mentally, when bad news actually becomes reality, it is very difficult," adding, "It was heartbreaking to inform patients about the repeal of abortion rights."

According to AP, at a hospital in Alabama, patients who were informed on the day of the ruling that "abortions can no longer be performed" were brought to tears.

This ruling concerned Mississippi's abortion ban law. However, as the court upheld the 'abortion ban,' the so-called 'trigger clause' automatically applies the illegality of abortion to other states as well.

According to the U.S. Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy group, 26 out of the 50 U.S. states are expected to effectively ban abortion.

In addition to states where the trigger clause applies, in Mississippi and North Dakota, the law will take effect after approval by the state attorney general. In Wyoming, the law will take effect five days after the Supreme Court ruling, and in Idaho, Tennessee, and Texas, abortion will be banned 30 days later.

In states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, where opinions on abortion remain divided, a final decision may be made through voting.

The abortion rights advocacy group Planned Parenthood claimed that this ruling will strip abortion rights from about 36,000 women of reproductive age.

Meanwhile, criticism of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision continues from figures around the world.

On the same day, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern issued a statement saying, "New Zealand has enacted laws to decriminalize abortion so that it can be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal one," and added, "It was incredibly shocking to see the basic rights of women to make decisions about their own bodies taken away."

She described New Zealand's law by saying, "Changing it this way is based on the fundamental belief that abortion is a choice made by women," and pointed out, "People have the right to feel deep moral qualms about this issue, but such personal beliefs cannot take away the decision-making rights of others."

New Zealand female politician and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta also condemned the U.S. decision in a statement on social media, asking, "How could this happen?"

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) jointly issued a statement immediately after the ruling, saying, "Both organizations believe that women should be able to make decisions about their own health and futures, and that these freedoms must be protected."

In particular, NBA star LeBron James (LA Lakers) shared a post on Twitter pointing out how this ruling overturning abortion legalization will affect the lives of Black women.

Earlier on the same day, the U.S. Supreme Court officially overturned the so-called 'Roe v. Wade' ruling, which legalized abortion up to six months of pregnancy.