Before 1973, a pregnant woman seeking an abortion had very few options. Of the options she did have, none was particularly appealing: overdosing on prescriptions to induce a miscarriage, traveling hours to an illegal abortion clinic to find it had already been shut down or employing the classic — and mortifying — coat hanger method. 

In that dark world, many pregnant women seeking abortions would put themselves at great risk to make it happen. In that world, the restrictions in place against abortion were severe, but the world would discover that women would continue the practice nonetheless, even if it meant death in an alleyway. 

Thanks to a ruling passed 40 years ago, it’s a reality that we millennials don’t have to accept. Roe v. Wade, the milestone Supreme Court decision that established abortion as a legal right, won women access to proper health care. Whereas abortion was a matter of ethical, religious scruple before, Roe v. Wade brought abortion back to its roots, as a matter that falls under medical jurisdiction.

At the time, both supporters and critics of the ruling understood its implications and consequences. It would prompt a whole slew of discussions about when a fetus is considered viable, where such abortion clinics should be available, accessibility to contraception, etc.

Slowly, though, newer generations have been losing sight of Roe v. Wade’s significance. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center this month found that the millennial generation is generally unaware of what the monumental legislation meant. Additionally, there was a 21 percent increase in the number of people from 2006 to 2013 who think that abortion is not a critical issue facing the country. Today, over half of the people polled do not find abortion to be a critical issue. 

These numbers worry a lot of pro-choice folks; the numbers make it seem as if the future’s American people and their “indifference” will step backward in history, undo all the work leading up to the Roe v. Wade legislation. But you know what? The millenials’ shifting attitude is probably the best sign of progress for women’s health issues that we’ve seen in years. 

Abortion is one of the most legislature-heavy and politically-charged medical fields today, right up there with other controversial issues, like stem cell research and euthanasia. The heat that surrounds these issues is clear: It’s about what’s ethical, moral and right by religious scripture versus what advances science or medicine. But today, it seems that the discussion is leaving the realm of moral-only context. Slowly, the most stigmatized medical issue is now being scrutinized more objectively. And slowly, this loosens our focus on questioning it as a right. 

For those who align pro-choice, this is great news. The millennials don’t remember a time when women had to do monstrous and painful things to make an abortion happen; to us, women always had the right to access an abortion clinic. And as such, it will always be a right. 

The millennials may be the single, most supporting base the Roe v. Wade ruling has, even if they don’t know it. It’s much like Americans on the race issue: The less focused we are on the color of our skin, the more likely we are to overcome racial tensions and inequalities considered “inherent” to our society.

No, we should not be concerned that millennials will force a relapse into the days of yore in which we viewed women as that pink matter, a container for the child. (Yes, a Frank Ocean reference. Hate me.) We should, however, look into how well we’re doing on providing the right kind of care at women’s health facilities. We should question why 92 percent of counties in Illinois have no abortion provider or why the Virginia Board of Health is trying to narrow abortion clinics’ hallway sizes.

By asking the right questions, we move forward — not stuck on the question of the right that was made right 40 years ago.

Nora is a senior in LAS. She can be reached at [email protected].