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 | | A'ja Wilson #22 of the South Carolina Gamecocks holds the NCAA trophy and celebrates with her team after winning the championship game against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs of the 2017 NCAA Women's Final Four at American Airlines Center on April 2, 2017, in Dallas, Texas. | | Ron Jenkins, Getty Images | |
| Shortly after leading South Carolina to its first-ever NCAA women's basketball title and becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2018 WNBA draft, hometown star A'ja Wilson was honored with a statue outside of Colonial Life Arena. |
| Now a two-time MVP with the Las Vegas Aces, Wilson is still considered royalty in Columbia – a city located in a state that outlawed abortion following the Supreme Court's June 24 ruling to overturn Roe vs. Wade. |
| Asked if she would still attend South Carolina given the current situation, Wilson said probably yes; with her family located just 30 minutes down the road, she could have turned to them if she needed help. |
| But it would be a different story for her daughter. |
| Roe's disappearance, Wilson said, is not leading her to think "about me. I'm thinking of the next generation. No, I would not let my child go there." |
 | | Current and retired professional female athletes grappling with changes to women's rights as the abortion state bans change. | | Illustration: Jennifer Borresen, USA TODAY Network, and Getty Images | |
| It is a startling admission from one of this century's most accomplished female athletes – but it's not unusual. Wilson views it as her responsibility to use her platform to speak out on issues that impact women, even if what she says sends shockwaves throughout the sports world. |
| The Supreme Court's decision made abortion illegal for roughly one-third of American women. USA TODAY Sports spoke to more than a dozen current and retired professional female athletes to gauge how they're weighing the new reality of a country where women's rights are being stripped away. |
| The female athletes who talked to USA TODAY Sports spoke candidly and passionately about their fear and uncertainty of a future without abortion access, particularly if they get traded to or drafted by a team in a red state. |
| "If people have to choose, I'm sure they're not going to want to choose to go to places where they don't have rights to their own bodies," said Breanna Stewart, a perennial All-Star who plays for the Seattle Storm. |
| Read the second installment in USA TODAY Sports' series about how the reversal of Roe affects women athletes. |
Other related coverage |
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 | | Breanna Stewart #30 of the Seattle Storm passes against the Las Vegas Aces during the third quarter in Game Four of the 2022 WNBA Playoffs semifinals at Climate Pledge Arena on Sept. 6, 2022, in Seattle, Washington. | | Steph Chambers, Getty Images | |
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