Suzi Alexander
"The majority of Americans believe decisions regarding pregnancy should be left to the individual, not politicians..."
-Suzi Alexander, Stewardship Manager at Planned Parenthood
1. What was abortion like before Roe v. Wade?
"Women desperate to end a pregnancy literally risked their lives and many died. Because it was illegal, often women traveled great distances and ended up in the hands of unscrupulous, untrained strangers who took advantage of their desperation. Some women were able to be secretly connected with a safer provider through an underground network coordinated by compassionate individuals including clergy who risked imprisonment. Many women lacking financial means or connections to access such an abortion would attempt to end the pregnancy on their own. While abortion is one of the safest medical procedures performed in the US today, before it was legal, emergency rooms were filled with women whose health and lives were jeopardized by sepsis, a life-threatening infection that can result from a self-induced abortion or one performed outside the medical system."
2. How has Planned Parenthood changed throughout the years?
"Planned Parenthood has been around nearly 100 years during which time there has been tremendous advances in birth control technology. When Margaret Sanger was working in the early years of the 20th Century to provide women with the knowledge and means to plan their families, condoms were the primary form of birth control and dispensing information about them was illegal. In 2016 an array of options are available including Long Term Reversible Contraceptives which have proven effective in dramatically reducing the rate of unintended pregnancy but are difficult to access for many.
On the education front, thanks to social media more information than ever is readily accessible to young people. This means, however, that misinformation is often mistaken for fact because “I read it on the internet.” Planned Parenthood educators work as they always have to provide comprehensive, age-appropriate sexual health information with respect and without judgment so young people are armed with accurate information needed to make healthy decisions.
Planned Parenthood has always fought for the ability of individuals to access health care and education necessary to make the decisions best for their health and futures free from political interference.
As political attacks on a person’s ability to access Planned Parenthood’s services have escalated the organization’s ability to respond has grown as well. Supreme Court decisions subsequent to Roe have cleared the way for states to enact a variety of roadblocks to access. The escalating threats at the state level have required Planned Parenthood to develop increasingly robust advocacy arms to fight legislative attacks both in Congress and in State Legislatures across the country."
3. What would the United States be like if Wade had won the case?
"Regardless of how the case was decided abortion would continue. If abortion had remained widely illegal, women would have continued to be victimized and suffer the same tragic consequences they did prior to Roe. Presumably activists advocating for safe, legal access would have continued to work state by state to enact laws make abortion more broadly legally available -- work they were doing at the time of the decision. This would likely have resulted in a patchwork of laws, much as we have today as a result of erosions to Roe, with many states passing restrictions that in effect make abortion difficult or impossible to obtain."
4. How is the Roe v. Wade decision important in women’s health care today?
"Though access continues to become more difficult, a woman can terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability safely and legally within the health care system.
If the woman’s health or life is threatened at any stage of pregnancy she can legally access an abortion. It’s important to remember there can be many outcomes to pregnancy. A high-risk pregnancy can endanger a woman’s health. A pregnancy that starts out healthy can go awry causing life or health-threatening complications. In these cases women and families need and deserve the ability to make the best decision regarding pregnancy for their personal circumstances.
Beyond the direct impact on health, the ability to determine when and whether to have a child fundamentally impacts a woman’s ability to finish education, become financially self-sufficient and pursue her dreams."
5. What is your reaction to the current Texas abortion case before the Supreme Court?
"The stakes could not be higher. The series of legislative attacks that have shut down clinics across Texas robbing women of critical heath care is tragic. Now, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt places a woman’s right to obtain safe legal abortion on the line not only for the women of Texas, but also the entire country.
The Texas law at issue places onerous restrictions on abortion providers that have nothing to do with safety and everything to do with making it harder to continue to provide services. If the Texas law is upheld similar restrictive legislation across the United States will go into effect forcing more closures and placing safe abortion further out of reach for many.
The majority of Americans believe decisions regarding pregnancy should be left to the individual, not politicians. The high stakes in the case and the resulting media focus brings the opportunity to educate the public about what is at risk. I’m optimistic that more will join in the advocacy work needed to protect access including telling their stories to help others understand what’s at stake."
"Women desperate to end a pregnancy literally risked their lives and many died. Because it was illegal, often women traveled great distances and ended up in the hands of unscrupulous, untrained strangers who took advantage of their desperation. Some women were able to be secretly connected with a safer provider through an underground network coordinated by compassionate individuals including clergy who risked imprisonment. Many women lacking financial means or connections to access such an abortion would attempt to end the pregnancy on their own. While abortion is one of the safest medical procedures performed in the US today, before it was legal, emergency rooms were filled with women whose health and lives were jeopardized by sepsis, a life-threatening infection that can result from a self-induced abortion or one performed outside the medical system."
2. How has Planned Parenthood changed throughout the years?
"Planned Parenthood has been around nearly 100 years during which time there has been tremendous advances in birth control technology. When Margaret Sanger was working in the early years of the 20th Century to provide women with the knowledge and means to plan their families, condoms were the primary form of birth control and dispensing information about them was illegal. In 2016 an array of options are available including Long Term Reversible Contraceptives which have proven effective in dramatically reducing the rate of unintended pregnancy but are difficult to access for many.
On the education front, thanks to social media more information than ever is readily accessible to young people. This means, however, that misinformation is often mistaken for fact because “I read it on the internet.” Planned Parenthood educators work as they always have to provide comprehensive, age-appropriate sexual health information with respect and without judgment so young people are armed with accurate information needed to make healthy decisions.
Planned Parenthood has always fought for the ability of individuals to access health care and education necessary to make the decisions best for their health and futures free from political interference.
As political attacks on a person’s ability to access Planned Parenthood’s services have escalated the organization’s ability to respond has grown as well. Supreme Court decisions subsequent to Roe have cleared the way for states to enact a variety of roadblocks to access. The escalating threats at the state level have required Planned Parenthood to develop increasingly robust advocacy arms to fight legislative attacks both in Congress and in State Legislatures across the country."
3. What would the United States be like if Wade had won the case?
"Regardless of how the case was decided abortion would continue. If abortion had remained widely illegal, women would have continued to be victimized and suffer the same tragic consequences they did prior to Roe. Presumably activists advocating for safe, legal access would have continued to work state by state to enact laws make abortion more broadly legally available -- work they were doing at the time of the decision. This would likely have resulted in a patchwork of laws, much as we have today as a result of erosions to Roe, with many states passing restrictions that in effect make abortion difficult or impossible to obtain."
4. How is the Roe v. Wade decision important in women’s health care today?
"Though access continues to become more difficult, a woman can terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability safely and legally within the health care system.
If the woman’s health or life is threatened at any stage of pregnancy she can legally access an abortion. It’s important to remember there can be many outcomes to pregnancy. A high-risk pregnancy can endanger a woman’s health. A pregnancy that starts out healthy can go awry causing life or health-threatening complications. In these cases women and families need and deserve the ability to make the best decision regarding pregnancy for their personal circumstances.
Beyond the direct impact on health, the ability to determine when and whether to have a child fundamentally impacts a woman’s ability to finish education, become financially self-sufficient and pursue her dreams."
5. What is your reaction to the current Texas abortion case before the Supreme Court?
"The stakes could not be higher. The series of legislative attacks that have shut down clinics across Texas robbing women of critical heath care is tragic. Now, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt places a woman’s right to obtain safe legal abortion on the line not only for the women of Texas, but also the entire country.
The Texas law at issue places onerous restrictions on abortion providers that have nothing to do with safety and everything to do with making it harder to continue to provide services. If the Texas law is upheld similar restrictive legislation across the United States will go into effect forcing more closures and placing safe abortion further out of reach for many.
The majority of Americans believe decisions regarding pregnancy should be left to the individual, not politicians. The high stakes in the case and the resulting media focus brings the opportunity to educate the public about what is at risk. I’m optimistic that more will join in the advocacy work needed to protect access including telling their stories to help others understand what’s at stake."