An Introduction to Political Neo-Orwellianism: Abortion

Neo Orwellianism has reared its ugly head in our nation in the form of government, also

known as Big Brother, attempting to control women’s rights to their reproductive rights. Roe v.

Wade 1973 is the decision of the supreme court to protect a woman’s right whether to have an

abortion or not based on the 14th amendment. Even though it is a part of the constitution, all

states are allowed to pass bills to place restrictions on abortion. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, the

power to protect women will shift from the federal courts to the state courts, allowing states to

ban abortion completely. State governments such as Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky,

Ohio, and Mississippi have passed the fetal heartbeat bill not allowing abortions after 6 weeks.

This is leading to these state governments to monitor medical facilities that practice abortions

such as Planned Parenthood to make sure this bill is upheld.

The danger in that if this path continues, women could find themselves totally without

any laws protecting their reproductive rights, and not just American women, but women seeking

asylum in America. In the case Garza v. Hargan, a 17 year old girl known as Jane Doe was sent

to a shelter operated by Trump administration while seeking asylum. She had found her own

money and transportation to get to a medical office yet Scott Lloyd and the federal government

agency would not let her leave, holding her hostage. Scott Lloyd, an anti-abortion activist, was

appointed by President Trump to lead the office of refugee resettlement. Lloyd’s first priority

was to block any girl under his purview from getting an abortion which was the official policy

for the agency under Lloyd’s control. Jane Doe was the first case discovered, but during the trial

there were 28 pages worth of Jane Doe’s who were not given the right to get an abortion while

living in these shelters (MSNBC).

 This goes to show that the government or Big Brother has full control on monitoring

abortions. By allowing President Trump to appoint people with specific views to different

government positions, he has the control to influence policy through these people. On the other

hand, there is turmoil on the state level as various different states that have passed the fetal

heartbeat bill. This will lead to an attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade, eliminating abortion which

will hold women essentially hostage in their own bodies.