Divided Justice: The Criminalization of Human Rights in the Wake of Roe v. Wade and Dobbs

The United States is experiencing a profound sociopolitical rupture marked by escalating polarization and competing moral frameworks. These divisions have transformed abortion from a matter of medical privacy into a symbolic battleground over identity, religion, gender, and human rights (Pew Research Center, 2022). Globally, nations define human rights differently, and constitutional protections vary widely (Donnelly, 2013). India’s Article 21—Right to Life—functions as a parent right from which all other rights derive, offering a broader foundation for human dignity than the U.S. Constitution (Puttaswamy v. Union of India, 2017; Chandrachud, 2014). By integrating comparative constitutional analysis, empirical evidence, and strengthened discussion of judicial interpretive methods, this article argues that the shift from Roe v. Wade (1973) to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) reflects a fundamental reordering of the relationship between the individual and the state. The criminalization of abortion functions as a mechanism of social control that reinforces existing hierarchies, regulates gender and sexuality, and expands state authority (Roberts, 2022; Foucault, 1977). Empirical evidence—including rising maternal mortality, increased criminalization, and widening racial disparities—demonstrates the real-world consequences of this shift (Commonwealth Fund, 2024; Hoyert, 2025; Kavattur et al., 2023). Understanding these developments requires situating the U.S. within a global human-rights landscape (UNHRC, 2018; WHO, 2021).