By Lily H-A
From PHN Issue 50, Summer/Fall 2022
On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade, stating that the U.S. Constitution does not protect the right to abortion. The new ruling does not restrict abortion on its own, but gives states the unlimited ability to restrict abortion.
Very quickly, abortion became illegal or severely restricted in many states. Some states had old abortion bans still on the books that had not been enforced in many years, while others had “trigger laws” that made abortion illegal automatically once Roe v. Wade was overturned. Most of these bans do not include any exceptions for rape or incest, and some do not include exceptions for the health of the pregnant person.
As of July 18, according to The New York Times:
- Abortion is completely banned in eight states: Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.
- Abortions are banned after six weeks (before many people know they are pregnant) in Ohio and South Carolina.
- Bans are expected to come into effect soon in Idaho, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Wyoming.
- Judges have temporarily blocked bans in Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, Utah, and West Virginia.
Additional bans and restrictions by states will likely be coming soon. It is very unlikely that the current Congress will be able to pass legislation that would protect abortion nationally, although the president has said that he would support this and signed an “Executive Order Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services” that takes some limited actions at the federal level. Activists are fighting hard across the nation to protect abortion access, but it is an uphill battle.
Since the decision was announced, there have already been numerous instances of pregnant people being denied abortion care and care for miscarriages as reported by The Washington Post and other newspapers, including in ways that seriously threaten their lives and health. Other types of medical care are also being affected. For example, some patients have reported difficulties getting the medication methotrexate—which is used to treat many conditions including cancer, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis—because it can induce abortions.
Abortion access was already very limited for people in jails and prisons, despite court decisions upholding their rights, but Dobbs v. Jackson will make it even more difficult, according to experts. In states with bans, access will likely be lost completely. These bans will also affect people on probation, parole, or other forms of court supervision who are prohibited from interstate travel in order to obtain the procedure in a state where abortion is legal. These bans may also impact people in federal facilities located in states with bans. The federal Bureau of Prisons stated that they are “reviewing all of the potential policy options for protecting the reproductive health of inmates in our care and custody.”
Prison Health News 