A Year into the No-Choice Era
Today marks a year since the US Supreme Court's Dobbs decision throwing out the federal legalization of abortion decided in 1973's landmark Roe v. Wade case. A year later, where are we?
Not unpredictably, many states in the US passed abortion restrictions. 14 states now ban abortion entirely or with severe restrictions, and 6 more have gestational limits that make abortion unavailable by the time many women realize they're pregnant, as this CNN article (updated 26 May 2023) shows. Note the figures would be higher but some states' high courts have struck down bans. For the 25 million women and girls of reproductive age living in these states (NARAL estimate, 10 Feb 2023), the end of the Pro-Choice era is the beginning of a new No-Choice era. ...Or at least a choice that has been taken away from women and girls age 12-44 by the overwhelmingly older, male legislators in these states who clearly know better.
It's interesting, as a counterpoint to what old-white-male legislatures are doing, that in the 6 conservative states where abortion was literally on the ballot in the last year- i.e., where proposed abortion restrictions were put to voters in ballot referendums- new restrictions lost in all 6.
One of the insidious things about limiting access to reproductive care is that you don't have to ban abortion outright to make it effectively unavailable. In many states where it's still legal but with heavy restrictions, a large number of clinics that used to provide abortion care have closed down. Doctors and clinics find the legal environment too hostile, and the greatly reduced demand for legal care makes it economically unviable to continue. This NPR article (21 June 2023) shows an interesting heat map of proximity to abortion access. Researchers who created the map found that one a year ago the average American lived 25 miles from an abortion provider, while today that figure is 86 miles.
Today women are traveling farther for abortions than they've had to for 50 years. One interesting wrinkle of people crossing state lines now for care is that Florida, a GOP dominated state that is enacting tough restrictions, has actually seen a big spike in numbers of abortions performed. This Politico article (24 June 2024) shows that Florida has seen the largest increase of any state. I'd say, "Suck on that, DeSantis," except that his 6-week abortion ban currently tied up in court may well be upheld.
Not unpredictably, many states in the US passed abortion restrictions. 14 states now ban abortion entirely or with severe restrictions, and 6 more have gestational limits that make abortion unavailable by the time many women realize they're pregnant, as this CNN article (updated 26 May 2023) shows. Note the figures would be higher but some states' high courts have struck down bans. For the 25 million women and girls of reproductive age living in these states (NARAL estimate, 10 Feb 2023), the end of the Pro-Choice era is the beginning of a new No-Choice era. ...Or at least a choice that has been taken away from women and girls age 12-44 by the overwhelmingly older, male legislators in these states who clearly know better.
It's interesting, as a counterpoint to what old-white-male legislatures are doing, that in the 6 conservative states where abortion was literally on the ballot in the last year- i.e., where proposed abortion restrictions were put to voters in ballot referendums- new restrictions lost in all 6.
One of the insidious things about limiting access to reproductive care is that you don't have to ban abortion outright to make it effectively unavailable. In many states where it's still legal but with heavy restrictions, a large number of clinics that used to provide abortion care have closed down. Doctors and clinics find the legal environment too hostile, and the greatly reduced demand for legal care makes it economically unviable to continue. This NPR article (21 June 2023) shows an interesting heat map of proximity to abortion access. Researchers who created the map found that one a year ago the average American lived 25 miles from an abortion provider, while today that figure is 86 miles.
Today women are traveling farther for abortions than they've had to for 50 years. One interesting wrinkle of people crossing state lines now for care is that Florida, a GOP dominated state that is enacting tough restrictions, has actually seen a big spike in numbers of abortions performed. This Politico article (24 June 2024) shows that Florida has seen the largest increase of any state. I'd say, "Suck on that, DeSantis," except that his 6-week abortion ban currently tied up in court may well be upheld.