Today, the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, is as good a time as any to stop saying "Roe v. Wade will never be overturned." The most chilling photo I can recall from recent history is this one--a group of priveleged white men beaming over their victory in once again controlling women's and girls' bodies, and that was just a couple of years ago.

Roe v. Wade has already been chipped away at like a slab of peppermint bark, and there is no reason to believe--with the impending ascent of Samuel Alito and the exit of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, that the chipping will not continue. In fact there is every reason to believe otherwise: Alito has already stated that the Constititution does not protect a woman's right to choose. In 1991, he wrote an opinion upholding a Pennsylvania law (which was struck down) that required a woman to inform her husband of her intention to get an abortion. Alito based his opinion on his belief that spousal notification did not create an undue burden for a woman, a belief founded on the absence of a specific number of women who would be harmed or inhibited by the statute.

In another case, Alito, though upholding the Supreme Court's definition of a person with regard to the Fourteenth Amendment, referred to fetuses as "human beings who are not Constitutional persons."

In other words, there is ample reason to believe Alito will join Justice Scalia's camp in interpreting law in such a way that Roe v. Wade is continually weakened.

Then there is the matter of recently installed Chief Justice John Roberts, who has declared that Roe v. Wade was "wrongly decided" and should be overturned. Roberts has also argued that Operation Rescue has not conspired to deny women equal protection, and that doctors who receive federal funds should not be allowed to talk with their patients about abortion procedures. And he has favored significantly restricting the means for poor women to obtain information about abortion services.

If you are a young woman and are reading this, consider it a big splash of cold water in your face. There are numerous (too many to count, actually) reasons why thousands of us have done everything in our power to get people to see the danger the entire country has been placed in by the Bush administration's deception, Constitution bashing, environment destroying, and support of the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. But if that means nothing to you, maybe this will: the Bush administration and all who sail with them do not want you to exercise control over your own bodies.

Find an older woman and ask her what it was like when women and girls had to travel hundreds of miles to get an abortion, or when abortions were done by people with little skill, resulting in infection, sterility, and even death. Ask her what it was like when the wealthy got abortions, but everyone else got maimed, or had no procedure done at all. Ask her what it was like when men decided that pregnancy was irreversible, even if those same men and their sons and brothers failed to take responsibility for birth control.

Once we give up control of our bodies, all other so-called autonomy becomes practically nonexistent.