Reproductive Rights

Very recently, the Supreme Court announced their decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. So what does this mean for those in America who can conceive?

To begin, this decision ultimately means that the constitutional right to abortion no longer exists. Although some states will still have access to abortion, others will have abortion access rolled back, or removed entirely, and most of these states limiting abortion access are states where Republicans hold the majority in state congressional affairs. View a map of abortion access here. Coincidentally, some of the most diverse states in the country - specifically in the American South - are the states in which abortion access is the most threatened, especially for women of color who reside in these states. "When it comes to the effect on minority women, the numbers are unambiguous. In Mississippi, people of color comprise 44% of the population but 81% of women receiving abortions, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks health statistics. In Texas, they’re 59% of the population and 74% of those receiving abortions. The numbers in Alabama are 35% and 69%. In Louisiana, people of color represent 42% of the population, according to the state Health Department, and about 72% of those receiving abortions", states AP News. This ruling is a direct attack not only against women everywhere, but against BIPOC women in some of the most underrepresented populations in the country. Not only is the American healthcare system plagued with racial bias, placing BIPOC women in even more risk, the cost of pregnancy (approx. $30,000) and childcare (approx. $10,000/year) exceeds the average income for women in the US (approx. $25,000/year), making it extremely difficult for many women to afford simply carrying a child full term and supporting themselves and the child post-partum. Additionally, abortion access is not the only right under attack; Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly called on the Supreme Court to "overrule the watershed civil rights rulings in Griswold v. Connecticut, Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges", NBC News. These cases protect the right to purchase and use contraceptives, the right to same-sex intimacy, and the right to gay marriage, respectively. Both Justice Thomas' statement and the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade set a dangerous precedent for minority groups across the country. So, what can be done? Keep fighting for your rights and the rights of others. If you live in one of the states where abortion access is threatened, protest, donate, write your representatives, get involved in local campaigns, and participate in any community effort to fight back against this ruling. If your abortion access is not threatened, please keep supporting people whose rights are threatened. Fighting back against this ruling is a national issue. If you are interested in organizing your local community against the overturning of Roe v. Wade, please explore the resources on our Everything You Need to Know About Protests page, and do not hesitate to reach out to us for any additional resources you may need.

Women have been impacted by the pandemic through the lack of accessible abortions. Marie Stopes Australia, a large provider of family planning and abortion, reported demand for this service had gone up 25% during the pandemic. Across the world, lockdowns led to women being unable to visit abortion clinics to terminate unwanted pregnancies. Abortions were already an expensive procedure, and the financial stress that came with COVID limited its accessibility. Even in countries like Australia, where the government covers 50% of abortion costs, this was a problem. Further, COVID saw resource shortages due to suppliers cancelling orders of PPE to abortion clinics on the basis these supplies were reserved for “health professionals.” But for many, abortion is an essential, life-saving and non-elective procedure.

How can we solve this in the context of COVID? Early medical abortion can be delivered via telehealth where medications are mailed to the patient after some local tests and remote consultations with a doctor via a call, options that the UK and Ireland have quickly adopted during the pandemic.

In the wake of the overturning of Roe V Wade, it’s particularly important to acknowledge that banning abortions is even more dangerous, especially after the inaccessibility during the pandemic. Poland had outright abortion bans but they eventually changed it after people started dying. Especially given the 20% increase in rapes and sexual violence due to the pandemic, women’s reproductive rights has never been more important. It’s also important that we provide more widespread access to the healthcare essentials like rape kits whose production went down during the pandemic Further, the pandemic limited access to contraceptives and because women who couldn’t access family planning services, the pandemic saw 7 million unintended pregnancies, increasing demand for abortions.