With Roe v Wade overturned disabled people reflect on how it will

In 2008, around eight weeks into her second pregnancy, Robin Wilson-Beattie began experiencing hyperemesis gravidarum, which caused her to have severe episodes of vomiting. She had gone through this condition as well as other complications, such as preeclampsia, during her first pregnancy four years prior and knew that she would likely become bedridden, but this time she didn't have the support to help her through it. With a 4-year-old son at home, she also didn't know if she'd be able to raise another child, so she decided to get an abortion. However, when she arrived at the clinic to get an abortion, she was denied care because of her disability, which had resulted from a spinal cord injury."They were not comfortable giving me an abortion because I had a disability. [My] paralysis scared them. I don't know why. The disability just freaked them out. They said I would have to go to a doctor and have it done in a hospital, so I had to go through health insurance," said Wilson-Beattie, a disability, sexuality and reproductive health educator. The landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide, was overturned by the Supreme Court on Friday. Though the court's decision will impact everyone, disabled people, especially those with multiple marginalized identities, will be disproportionately impacted for a number of reasons, such as health care inequities, sexual violence, poverty and the loss of autonomy that they have historically experienced. Wilson-Beattie had to wait two additional weeks from the time she had originally sought the abortion. When she was finally able to schedule the appointment, Wilson-Beattie was sexually assaulted by the doctor during the examination but stayed quiet because she didn't feel like she had any other choice. Disabled people are at high risk of being in a situation where they would need access to an abortion. According to a survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, disabled people were over three times more likely than nondisabled people to experience sexual assault. The likelihood increases for people with multiple disabilities. Mia Ives-Rublee, director of the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress, said that access to abortion is crucial to the survival of disabled people because for some, carrying a pregnancy to term could put their own life in danger. For example, Ives-Rublee doesn't know if she'd be able to carry a pregnancy to term due to her short stature, low lung capacity and brittle bone disease, called osteogenesis imperfecta."If I am not able to have an abortion [and] if I accidentally get pregnant, that could have significant impacts to my health. That's a huge concern for me, as an individual who is continuing to focus on my career and as a person who wants to have a choice in the matter," she said. The loss of bodily autonomy has a deep history within the disability community, said disability activist Emily Ladau. All data is taken from the source: http://npr.org Article Link: https://www.npr.org/2022/06/25/1107151162/... #abortion #newsabc #newstodayworld #newstodayinusa #newstodayupdate #newsworldwide #