If you are a woman who lived through the period before the Roe V. Wade decision was passed by the Supreme Court, you can undoubtedly see the implicit threat in our president's decision to select an anti-abortionist as Justice Kennedy's replacement.

One of my major concerns prior to the election that placed President Trump in the White House was that in the event that any of the Supreme Court justices were to retire or die, his choice of their replacement could change the face of this country dramatically.

With the retirement of Justice Kennedy, our President made it clear that his choice would be someone who is anti Roe V. Wade.

No woman of my generation can possibly forget what this country was like, if for personal reasons they could not face having a baby. This is hardly an argument in favor of abortion, but rather the right of a woman to make that choice which the decision in Roe provided.

In the days before Roe, women were forced to leave the country and go to places where abortions were available to them. Beyond this, many who couldn't afford to go elsewhere had to find "meat factories" where people performed abortions and where women often died at their hands.

In addition, individuals tried to use whatever they had to self-abort unwanted babies. It was not unusual for them to use coat hangers on themselves. Being poor wasn't any easier back then then it is today. 

What frightens me is that at the moment there are five conservative judges out of the nine who are sitting on the Court. If one is forced to look at the situation as it will exist if Justice Anthony Kennedy is replaced by another conservative justice, things will only look worse.

It is not only the question of abortion that is at issue here. If you take a look at the existing court, certain of the remaining justices who may be considered "liberal," can be retiring as well.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is 84 years of age having been born in March 1933, and has had illness threatening for a long time, may well be leaving the Court, opening the doors to a frightening possibility.

In addition to the issue at hand, our President will undoubtedly use his next three years in the White House to create a membership on the Supreme Court that is almost entirely conservative.

This opens a larger issue. What will happen if a case were to come before them that dealt with same sex marriage? Gay rights, which have survived miraculously, may well be at risk. Thus it is important that Americans recognize that Kennedy's replacement may not be the end of what American citizens are forced to face.

Our president has been very open about his plans for this country, and my concerns have unfortunately been vindicated.