VOLUME 16, ISSUE 8
JUNE 2022
Civil Discourse, Social Media, and Abortion Rights
Maggie Walker’s Response to the Leaked Overturn of Roe v. Wade
By Lucia Gambacini, Ansa Kanwal, and Sriyutha Morishetty
Photo: Peize Wang / Students protest the Supreme Court decision at the school walkout.On May 3rd, a Supreme Court draft opinion was anonymously leaked, stating that the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade (1973)—the case that protects a woman’s right to abortion constitutionally—would likely be overturned. Roe v. Wade created the idea of pregnancy trimesters to better regulate when states could or could not enact laws to limit abortion. Under the case's original ruling, abortion could not be regulated by state law during the first trimester and could not be outlawed in any trimester, but abortion could be regulated during the second and third trimesters.
The constitutionality of the case was based on the 14th Amendment’s right to privacy strengthened in the case Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), which aimed to protect the legality of contraceptive access. The ruling of this case later influenced the Supreme Court’s decisions on other cases involving contraception, abortion, interracial marriage, and LGBTQ+ rights. Today, fear has spread as the realization that other cases based on the precedent of Griswold v. Connecticut may suffer the same predicted fate as Roe v. Wade. This includes Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the landmark case protecting same-sex marriage.
Moreover, if the implied right to privacy in the Fourteenth Amendment referenced in Griswold v. Connecticut is denied in cases relating to abortion, this may indicate that the part of the case that enforced nationwide availability of contraceptives may also be overturned, leaving the legality of contraceptives in states’ hands. Thus, the overturning of Roe v. Wade is not only an example of restrictions on the right to abortion, but it also represents how other cases built around the exact concept of a right to privacy can easily be struck down.
The New York Times has predicted that if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, thirteen states will immediately or very quickly ban abortion, five states may reinforce their laws that banned abortion before Roe v. Wade's original ruling in 1973, and fourteen states may ban abortion after twenty-two weeks or earlier. Virginia is not one of these states. Currently, Virginia has no restrictions on abortion before the twenty-fifth week of pregnancy. However, seven anti-abortion bills have been introduced in the state’s General Assembly in 2022 alone, and Virginia is only one vote away on each of these bills from banning abortion.
In a matter of days after the leaked ruling, protests began all across the country. This unrest spread to Maggie Walker as well, leading to an organized walkout for pro-choice supporters and a concurrent red-out day for pro-life supporters on May 9. At 12 PM on Monday, large numbers of students walked out of the student parking lot intending to voice their opinions against the leaked draft. With around a hundred and fifty students showing up wearing green, it was an extraordinary display for supporters of choice within MLWGS.
Many students brought posters and signs, while others spoke about the importance of Roe v. Wade. Social media was the backbone of the walkout, where students shared information on the event and other media. Skylar Hunnewell, a sophomore who actively engaged in the pro-choice social media campaign, stated, “Social media had a huge impact on the walkout, and it was how it got around in the first place, through reposts of graphics and posts.” Hunnewell took leadership of this by making a graphic that was widely circulated amongst MLWGS students.
However, social media was also one of the main methods used to criticize peers with opposing views, as publicly out-spoken leaders of both movements felt attacked for their opinions. Maggie Walker’s vastly liberal student body meant that pro-life students who expressed their views were nearly always in the minority. Freshman Connor Cloe, a student who wore red on May 9, remarked that he was “nervous about wearing a red shirt,” with the fear that he was “going to get attacked personally.”
Throughout the day, Cloe also reflected on “a couple of people making comments about his beliefs,” which he viewed as “expected.” Representing the minority of this opinion at Maggie Walker, Cloe has often felt misunderstood and overpowered by the majority, yet he strongly remains loyal to his beliefs. “It is a part of my religion, and I’m not going to give that up just because the majority is against me,” he explained. Looking forward, Cloe said, “I hope people’s opinions of me don’t change because of my beliefs.”
Hunnewell, however, expressed, “I am pro-choice, and I have always felt safe and allowed to express these beliefs in a liberal environment like MLWGS.” Their sentiment represented the sentiment of those wearing green, as many expressed that they were comfortable showcasing their beliefs, a stark contrast to many pro-life students.
Photo: Peize Wang / Students at the walkout.Matters such as abortion rights, however, are incredibly polar issues. In an interview with Dr. Robert Lowerre, Director of MLWGS, he stated, “Abortion is the one issue, depending upon what your core beliefs are, [where] if you believe that life begins at conception, there is nothing that is going to change your mind about abortion. On the same token, if you believe 100% that a woman should have autonomy over her body, it’s unlikely you’re going to change your mind.”
Protestors, both pro-choice and pro-life, agreed that there was a clear disconnect between the two groups involved in May’s protest. In response to each side of the argument’s posters being taken down, junior Brielle Telfair stated,“Because it is a passionate and important issue, I believe both sides responded to one another.”
“You’re not listening to the other person; you’re thinking about what you’re going to say next,” Lowerre added about political tensions that often arise in a debate. In a school like Maggie Walker, where individuals from fourteen different school systems are brought together, differences in opinion are inherent, and many students believed that there was not an opportunity for an open discussion on the issue. Hunnewell voiced, “I am 100% pro-choice, but I also think that there should be room for others to voice their opinion, and that room was not allowed.”
Branwyn McCormick, a key player in the red-out protest, was frusurated with the Young Republicans’ posters being taken down, stating, “I thought it was completely uncalled for when all 150 of our club posters were torn down in minutes.” Senior Brie Bartlett, a key organizer of the walkout and bake sale, agreed with the sentiment of being disappointed with her peers for blatant disrespect towards her posters, as well as the Young Republicans’ posters. Freshman Sonia Chornodolsky, a pro-choice student, stated, “Every opinion should be respected in the sense of equal opportunity to wear red or green without the fear of retribution from the other side.”
With the national protests and walkout, the MLWGS administration was tasked with ensuring a peaceful environment despite recent events. They maintained a policy of allowing posters up, if backed up by a club and approved by Lowerre, and tried to make a safe place for everyone to express their beliefs. The administration knew of the walkout and supported it, as it allowed students to express their First Amendment rights. However, they had also denied the students permission to fundraise for Planned Parenthood through a bake sale, as it went against school monetary regulations and rules. Students are still largely divided on how the administration treated the aftermath of the walk-out.
Lowerre, in his email titled “Recent MLWGS Events” spoke about the hostile environment being created by students unable to listen to the other side. Sophomore Leah Winder stated, “The administration was pretty neutral, as they permitted people from both sides to express their opinions.” McCormick had a positive reaction to Lowerre’s email as well, stating, “In the past, I felt that the rights of the conservative minority were not protected; however, Dr. Lowerre’s newest email was well-written and helped correct this past error. He succeeded in protecting the freedom of speech constitutionally guaranteed to all students.”
Others, however, believed that the schoolwide email was not neutral enough. For example, Telfair expressed, “It felt like it was being framed as a wide-scale case of bullying—a case with a set attacker and victim.” Some further highlighted how they believed that the email was a direct attack on the pro-choice protesters and supporters, as it focused more on the ostracization of the pro-lifers than on both sides. Bartlett claimed that the pro-choice posters were being torn down long before the walkout, and even before the Young Republicans had put up their posters. She had worked out this issue with the administration, yet she believed the email sent out neglected this side of the story.
The evident insularity of today’s society has polarized individuals into two simple groups viewed solely on political opinions: Republicans and Democrats. However, it is important to acknowledge that political belief is based on a spectrum of opinion, and a Democrat can be alternatively be pro-life just like a Republican can be pro-choice. Evidently, Maggie Walker’s polarized student body continues to face issues of civil discourse and co-existing despite strikingly different opinions. However, MLWGS continues to strive for an open environment, free from any discrimination. As Dr. Lowerre wrote in his email, “An inclusive and welcoming environment goes way beyond race and religion, it also means that we will respect and tolerate our peers' views.”
Information retrieved from The Washington Post, ACLU, Cornell Law, Vox, PBS, and The New York Times.