June 24, 2022, marks an important day in the history of abortion laws. Exactly a year ago, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, leading to a cascade of state-level abortion bans and restrictions. It meant that there was no federal law protecting the right to abortion in the US, leaving the states to pass their own abortion laws. The ruling has led to various kinds of effects in the year since.
Travelling time to abortion clinics
With more and more states restricting, or even totally banning abortions, women who wanted an abortion have had to cross state borders to get one safely and legally. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association mapped the average travel time from census tracts to the nearest abortion clinic. Before the overturning, the average journey to a clinic took between 10.0 to 27.8 minutes. But afterwards, it nearly quadrupled, with upper-end travel times averaging over 100 minutes.
Doctors and the overall healthcare system
Abortion bans have also affected the well-being of women who wanted pregnancy. In case of any obstetric emergency, doctors and hospitals are at a loss of what to do. Doctors have faced constraints while caring for patients with miscarriages and pregnancy-related emergencies. Moreover, in states with abortion bans, many doctors are constantly concerned about legal risks while making medical decisions. To avoid these issues, medical professionals are even migrating to abortion-protective states.
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Disproportionate repercussions
The country has now been more profoundly divided. Getting an abortion is a much more difficult process for women belonging to a low-income group. They can’t afford long journeys to abortion clinics, during which they will not only lose their daily wages but also be forced to incur more expenses. Furthermore, people are increasingly commenting on the two-tiered legal system that this ruling has resulted in. Women have been forced to bear the children of their rapists. Those experiencing miscarriages have to wait for an abortion until they sicken to the point that life-ending health outcomes are a certainty. Women have been brutally deprived of their physical autonomy and dignity.
2024 elections
According to surveys conducted by Pew, the support for abortions has gone up from 31% to 46% over the last four years. People’s political ideologies play a huge influence on their views regarding abortion laws. “84% of Democrats believe abortion should be legal in most cases, compared to 40% of Republicans”, wrote BBC. Politicians are banking on this issue to bring voters to the poll in the next presidential elections. However, while abortion bans and restrictions are popular among conservatives, Republicans risk losing the support of moderate voters who want abortion to be legal.
