1. Fetal Personhood

This week, the Republican Party adopted a policy platform that supports states establishing “fetal personhood” through the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which grants equal protection under the law to all “American citizens.”

That means that if a state legislates “fetal personhood,” the same rights currently reserved for people will be granted to embryos from the moment of fertilization. This would surely end up before the Supreme Court, where we risk the Trump-appointed MAGA Justices nationalizing this interpretation of the 14th Amendment.

In that case, abortion, IVF, and hormonal birth control would all be at risk, nationwide.

2. The Comstock Act

A set of anti-vice laws from 1873, known as the Comstock Act, have never been repealed, and all Trump would have to do is instruct his administration to enforce them.

If enforced, the Comstock Act would immediately outlaw using the mail (including UPS and FedEx) to distribute abortion pills, as well as possibly tools used in surgical abortion procedures. This could cause massive interruptions for pharmacies, hospitals, healthcare facilities, and clinics.

Jonathan F. Mitchell, an anti-abortion lawyer who represented Trump before the Supreme Court this year, said, “We don’t need a federal ban when we have Comstock on the books.” He also advised, “I think pro-life groups should keep their mouths shut as much as possible until the election.”

3. The Supreme Court

This term, the Supreme Court punted on both abortion-related cases, very likely because it’s an election year, but both cases are already on track to return to the Court as soon as next year, when it’s more politically appealing to ban abortion.

As a reminder, these cases include challenges to the FDA approval of mifepristone, one of the two pills used in the majority of abortions; as well as a question of whether emergency providers can perform abortions to stabilize a patient in states with abortion bans.

We’re pointing all of this out not to cause unwarranted alarm, but to provide clarity about what's at stake. Next week, anti-choice politicians across the country will once again try to hide the ball on this issue, just as they did after Roe was overturned.

But watch what they do, not what they say. Attacks on abortion have not slowed down, despite their attempts to walk back their anti-abortion stances.

If anti-choice politicians do not suffer political consequences in November, they will only escalate their attacks on birth control, on gender equality, and on healthcare access across the country.

Thank you for being with us in this fight. We couldn't do this without you.