On June 24th, 2022, the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving it up to the states to decide whether women can exercise what should be a constitutional right for everyone.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, abortion is completely banned in 13 states, and many more states ban abortion after 6 weeks when most women don’t even know they’re pregnant. Women are dying of pregnancy complications that doctors are afraid to treat.
Doctors and women are finding creative ways to ensure a woman gets the abortion she needs.
Doctors are creating new organizations. Just The Pill, founded in 2020 by Julie Amaon in Minnesota, brings reproductive health care through mobile units and telemedicine to women in rural areas of Wyoming, Minnesota, and Montana and in adjacent states that have banned abortions. Dr. Meg Autryis creating a floating abortion clinic in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, offering reproductive health services to women in the Gulf States.
While abortion pills can cost hundreds of dollars, some organizations waive the fee to support low-income women. To access abortion pills by mail, women can go to Plan C, founded by Elisa Wells, or Aid Access, run by Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, who charges a sliding scale fee of up to $110.
Women are organizing to teach one another a safe, self-managed menstrual extraction/abortion technique for the first trimester, the Del-Em. Reproductive rights organizations continue to raise funds to pay for women’s abortions.
As this anniversary passes, the fight continues until abortion becomes a constitutional right and stays that way. Women are lobbying state legislatures to reinforce existing abortion protections and to amend state constitutions to protect a woman’s right to bodily autonomy. Some are advocating for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment to ensure abortion is a right nationwide.
Watch Stand UP, Speak OUT Episode 3: Reproductive Rights to hear women’s personal stories about facing the decision to terminate a pregnancy.
