As a collaborative digitization and discovery organization committed to providing open access to the history of medicine and health resources, the Medical Heritage Library, Inc. (MHL) works to ensure that researchers and other people have access to the historical records at the heart of evidence-based history.
The June 24, 2022 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in Dobbs v. Jackson to overturn the 49-year precedent of Roe v. Wade, as analyzed by historians and commentators, is based, in part, on a faulty reading of history and an intentional misunderstanding of the evolution of laws around abortion. As noted in the amicus brief filed by both the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians, “the court adopted a flawed interpretation of abortion criminalization that has been pressed by anti-abortion advocates for more than 30 years. The opinion inadequately represents the history of the common law, the significance of quickening in state law and practice in the United States, and the 19th-century forces that turned early abortion into a crime.” The MHL fears how such interpretations can and may be used to overturn existing law. We also fear what that overturning will mean for individuals seeking medical care.
This decision inserts government into considerations that should be made between an individual and their physician. It not only restricts access to reproductive services, but also lays the foundation for increases in maternal mortality. The United States already has the highest rates of maternal mortality of any developed country, with Black women dying at a ratio of 3:1 to 4:1 in relation to white women. This decision will also disproportionally affect individuals from historically disadvantaged communities. We fear that this decision will become a gateway to other actions taken at the state level to restrict access to birth control and forms of medical intervention needed for reproductive and sexual health.
This decision also impacts women’s health overall by reducing a person’s ability to gain access to medications that not only aid in abortion and miscarriage recovery, but also in other aspects of health care, such as cancer treatment and in-vitro fertilization. The MHL stands on the side of complete health care for all.
While the sources made available by the Medical Heritage Library, Inc. document what happens when access to healthcare for all individuals is limited, these sources often reflect the perspective of institutions run by white males and religiously biased organizations.
History is meant to be not only a window into our past, but also a guidepost for our future. To paraphrase, the history of medicine is also its prologue. The MHL, as professionals who serve all who learn from the health sciences, expresses disappointment at the Dobbs decision, as well as our sadness at its impact on future generations.