Roe v. Wade is Deeply Personal for UC Irvine Professor Who Survived Rape

A UC Irvine law professor said she is devastated and deeply concerned after the recent Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

"We see this as a nightmare that has come to fruition but one that is not surprising," said professor Michele Goodwin.

Days after the supreme court overturned Roe v. Wade, Goodwin shared her reaction on an issue that’s deeply personal for this scholar.

"Being severely raped at the age of 10 and having an abortion at the age of 12, what concerns me today is the millions of girls in the country who can no longer see the Supreme Court as a venue of protection," she said.

As a rape survivor, Goodwin’s heart hurts for those without money and resources, especially in states where abortion is now illegal.

"The Supreme Court has now sanctioned states forcing girls ages, 9,10,11 years old to become mothers," Goodwin said.

But millions on the other side remain strongly opposed to all abortions.

"It just is murder. What abortion is, if you think about it, the purpose of an abortion is to kill an unborn human being in the womb," said Susan Swift of the Right to Life League.

Swift says there are no exceptions, even the case of rape or incest.

"Because why would you kill somebody who wasn’t even at the scene of the crime?" That child didn’t exist at the act of the crime. What we should be doing is punishing rapists, but we shouldn’t be killing innocent babies."

Goodwin believes this is a sad moment for our democracy.

"Forcing someone, coercing someone, mandating someone to carry a pregnancy to term, who are teenagers, means an assault on their lives in ways that are unimaginable," Goodwin said.

"Our democracy depends upon women being full and equal citizens."

She fears for what this decision means moving forward.

"One certainly can’t say that any girl in this country should be saddled with a pregnancy at 10 years old because a man in the legislature deemed it should be so," she said.