I was furious when Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. Underneath that anger was fear. I was fearful of how my own life would change if I were to get pregnant, yes, but I was also scared for others. What about survivors of sexual violence? Or pregnant teens who aren’t able to take care of a child? Or people whose plans would be unraveled by having a child they weren’t emotionally, financially, or physically capable of caring for? What implications did the decision have for the quality of life of children born from unwanted pregnancies?

Ultimately, with the Dobbs decision, the Supreme Court decided it was not its responsibility to address these concerns — that each state would decide to govern its people as it saw fit. For my friends and me, all young adults, this led to great confusion. For example, we knew that elective abortion procedures were legal in California and illegal in Texas, and that Arizona banned abortions after fifteen weeks. But we knew little details beyond those broad strokes, and it was hard to keep them all straight.

It wasn’t until April 9, 2024, that I fully understood the gravity of the situation in Arizona, where I live. That’s when the Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Planned Parenthood et al. v. Kristin Mayes/Hazelrigg. In this decision, Justices John Lopez, Clint Bolick, James Beene, and Kathryn King all voted to turn back the clock on Arizona’s abortion laws. Their decision wouldn’t just force Arizonans back into a pre-Roe health care landscape — it would force us to live within a Civil War–era healthcare landscape. The law from 1864 would ban all abortions, unless the birthing parent’s life is in jeopardy, under the threat of jail time for both recipients and providers.