In the post-Roe v. Wade world described by opponents of legal abortion — one they imagine Brett Kavanaugh will bring into being if he is confirmed to the Supreme Court — abortions will be outlawed, but women won’t be arrested and they won’t be treated like criminals. According to this mythology, women were never arrested for having abortions before Roe, and therefore we can count on the same being true after the constitutional protection for abortion is overturned. This is the story they tell, but it is not true.
As the Senate begins confirmation hearings this week on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination, it is especially important to refute the skewed vision presented by those who want to see Roe overturned. Let’s begin by looking at a pre-Roe arrest — and then at the way the legal system has dealt with women even with Roe as the law of the land.
In 1971, Shirley Wheeler was pregnant and living in Florida. She was advised by her doctor to have an abortion for medical reasons. Abortion was illegal in most states, including Florida. So Ms. Wheeler did what an estimated one million women did each year at that time: She found a way to end her pregnancy.
