Honorable Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

Federal Circuit
1 First St NE
Washington, DC 20543

Dear Honorable Chief Justice Roberts,

I would like to start with a quote from a well known philosopher, Confucius, "life is
really simple, but we insist on making it complicated”. I believe that this is a very simple,
yet very meaningful quote. There are many issues seen today of which really shouldn’t
be. Many political issues are ones we all could find common ground on, yet we chose to
argue and make our lives much more difficult than need be. One issue in particular that
deserves to be addressed is the overturn of Roe vs Wade. The debate between
pro-choice vs pro-life is way more dramatic than it needs to be. By this I mean that
abortions are not a free-for-all murder spree and should not be advertised as such,
rather they are medical procedures done for women who have circumstantial reasons to
not want a child. This decision is never made lightly, as this is a decision that will alter
the course of the rest of their lives. For the individual right to be taken away from
women to choose what happens to their body and their future because uneducated
individuals deem it “murder”, is absolutely absurd.

“Abortion is one of the oldest medical procedures, and the need for it does not
disappear simply because politicians pass laws to ban it” (Buchanan, 2023). Rights and
Responsibilities are a key principle of which deems that human rights should be
protected and responsibilities be met and thus, applies to protect the right to an
abortion. The social justice issue of abortion rights is important to me for the fact that I
am a woman and will be working in the medical field. As a woman, this issue resonates
with me because, although my resident state of Pennsylvania has yet to outlaw
abortions, abortions could eventually be outlawed here. Thus, it is an infringement of the
individual’s personal privacy for the states to have control over the legality of abortions
due to the fact that abortions could be outlawed whenever a new state representative
takes office. Although some may feel it is unethical to perform abortions, they are in fact
medical procedures. They are performed to help women in circumstantial situations
where it is necessary. Some of these circumstances can include, but are not limited to,
not being financially prepared for a child, not being mentally/physically fit to care for a
child, being raped, having a non-viable preganancy, or being incompatible with
pregnancy. These circumstances are different for every single woman who has ever/will
ever be pregnant and therefore, this has always been a personal, private decision they
have to decide upon. Due to the fact that abortions are highly circumstantial, I don’t feel
it is right for the state to determine how/when women should be allowed to have one. As
someone who will be working in the health field, and aspiring to work in women’s health,
this is an issue I am extremely passionate about and feel needs to be revisited.

In relation to this issue, I am asking for you and your council of Justices to
reconsider your decision to overturn Roe vs Wade. I am asking you to consider the
rights of all women in America and our lives. The decision of whether or not to proceed
with an abortion should be up to the woman carrying the child and their healthcare
provider. Therefore, my solution to this issue would be to revisit the overruling of Roe vs
Wade, and suggest we go back to the right to an abortion being a federal law, as it is a
medical procedure. Everyone should have the right to informed medical decisions on
their own behalf and this should not be seen as any different.

While reading The Family Roe: An American Story I learned about how Roe vs
Wade came into play with abortion rights. The book discusses Norma McCorvey, or as
we know “Jane Roe”. She was one of many women who wanted an abortion in the mid
1900’s, but could not get one due to the fact that they were illegal unless the woman’s
life was in danger. However, “there is a significant disparity between what the law
commands and what people do” (Prager, 2022). As we all know, just because abortions
are illegal, does not mean they will stop happening. This just means that women will not
have proper access to healthcare and will be forced to have underground abortions
performed in unsanitary, risky conditions. This happened before abortion was legal and
had been killing women due to infections and hemorrhage. Therefore, it is necessary to
let people have these procedures done. They will find ways to do them, but if it is unsafe
it can mean risking their life too. In an article titled In Dobbs, By Overturning Roe and
Denying the Right to an Abortion, the Supreme Court Has Attacked Freedom the author
states; “...the safety and privacy of individuals is paramount in this moment; whatever
can be done to protect clinics, providers, and patients must be put into place”
(Buchanan, 2023). This is an issue that will affect not just women, but those around
them. The clinics and providers are terrified to lose their licenses and practices in the
event that they decide to help provide these women with a proper healthcare procedure.
As healthcare workers, it is our duty to do no harm and work to benefit others/help those
in need. These patients need these healthcare procedures, for whatever reason they
choose, and they want to help them so they don’t fall extremely ill or die, yet they fear to
protect themselves and their establishments. Maternal death rates are increasing and
we wonder why. We deserve healthcare treatments because we are living, breathing
people. These fetuses are not viable without the woman, therefore we should be
focusing on the people who are here, not who could be.

I now would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your time and
consideration. I truly appreciate you taking the time to read this letter and consider my
thoughts and solution moving forward. This issue is one of many that you have to
consider, but it affects the lives of women all over the U.S. I understand your time is
valuable, yet so are these people. I hope that you and your fellow Justices reconsider
your decision to overturn Roe vs Wade. I sincerely hope that this letter finds you well
and I wish you the best.
Thank you,

Stephanie Ciarkowski
s.ciarkowski@setonhill.edu

Buchanan, M. (2023, March 17). In Dobbs, by overturning Roe and den5ying the right to an
abortion, the Supreme Court has attacked freedom. Center for American Progress.
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/in-dobbs-by-overturning-roe-and-denying-the-right-to-a
n-abortion-the-supreme-court-has-attacked-freedom/

Prager, J. (2022). The family Roe: An American story. W.W. Norton & Company.