Shirley Wheeler has become a topic of discussion today after her story was shared in Slate’s podcast. Her fight for her abortion right and how she ended up being the first woman to be convicted of abortion.
As the Supreme Court of the U.S. overturns Roe V Wade, a landmark decision in 1973, many people have been talking about how the country has prevented women from getting access to safe abortion services and making them risk their lives.
Where Is Shirley Wheeler Today?
Shirley Wheeler’s story is about the struggle of a woman before the abortion rights laws. She was 22 years old and had an unlicensed abortion in Florida in 1970.
But, she was detained and charged with manslaughter when she refused to identify the person who carried out the procedure. She was convicted guilty of aborting the child she was carrying but did not want.
She is said to be the first American woman to ever be held criminally accountable for having an abortion. She was the first woman in the state to be charged with violating abortion legislation that dates back to the early 19th century.
After a two-day trial, she was found guilty of manslaughter under the terms of Florida’s 1866 abortion law. The state accused her of terminating a life of a “quick” fetus-one that moved within the womb.
Despite the fact that she did not hide having the abortion, she insisted that the fetus was younger than five months at the time and that she had never felt fetal movement. Still, she received two-year probation in October.
Thousands of other women around the country who perceived Miss Wheeler as a victim of antiquated abortion regulations took her as a heroine after learning of her sentence. Many women march through the streets holding the banner that read, “Defend Shirley Wheeler.”
The public applauded her when she appeared at a Women’s National Abortion Action Coalition event in Washington. She did not cooperate with the police or prosecutor to give out the name of her abortionist, reports the NY Post.
Many organizations and people supported her- organized rallies, and the Supreme court of Florida finally overturned her conviction in 1972. In 1973, U.S. Supreme Court ruled that women would have the liberty to choose an abortion which is also called Roe V Wade.
Illegal Abortion and Roe v Wade Update
As the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the Roe V Wade judgment made in 1973 that granted women an option of safe abortions, there have been several talks about how illegal abortions were a thing of the past in the early 19th century and how women suffered because of it.
While talking about the current scenario, Slate’s podcast on Roe v.Wade mentions about two women who changed the debate on abortion forever in America. One of them is Shirley Wheeler, the first woman to be convicted and sentenced for having an abortion.
In the podcast, the hosts share the story of Wheeler, who had to abort the baby because she could not afford to raise one. She was already a mother, but her pregnancy was complicated- the child was born as a result of a sexual assault on her. She chose not to raise that child.
She did not want to become a mother. The abortion that she was convicted of was the second one. She already had the first one before. The first pregnancy had caused her high blood pressure and other ailments, and she developed a condition that prevented her from using intrauterine devices or pregnancy control tablets and resulting in high blood pressure and other ailments.
What Happened To Shirley Wheeler?
Shirley Wheeler was arrested, convicted, and sentenced for having an abortion in 1970. She was the first woman to have been sentenced for having an abortion. The sole reason is that abortion was illegal in the U.S. at that time.
However, she did not choose to stay silent, and neither did the world. Her story would be published in every newspaper or media channel, bringing many women who were suffering to rally in the street to provide justice to her.