Imagine opening an atlas and seeing the usual states—South Carolina, Oregon, Texas—except overlaid with vivid new lines: invisible borders drawn not by geography, but by access to healthcare. Some areas would gleam, offering reproductive choice and preventive care; others, vast shadowed plains, marked by scarcity and silence.

What would happen if American maps were redrawn by legal rulings instead of rivers and ridges? This isn’t just a thought experiment. Decisions like the latest Supreme Court ruling have begun to create fragmented landscapes, where eligibility for services like those Planned Parenthood provides depends on the latitude and longitude of your bed.

This patchwork brings up a surprising parallel: during the nineteenth century, the U.S. Free State vs. Slave State divide meant traveling across a line could transform your rights overnight. Today, crossing a state line might mean the difference between getting a cancer screening or being turned away. How much are our health and autonomy shaped by political cartography?

If you could redraw the map for the future, what borders would you wish for—and what stories would those new lines tell?

This article was inspired by the headline: 'Supreme Court rules for South Carolina in its bid to defund Planned Parenthood - NBC News'.