Dear John, We find ourselves, currently, in the midst of a kind of race to the bottom when it comes to abortion rights in the U.S.
While 2021 was hailed as the worst year for abortion rights in decades, it was only the beginning—2022 is shaping up to see similar numbers of restrictions, with even harsher penalties for those who violate them. And of course, the shadow of a Roe v. Wade repeal looms ever larger as the Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs case approaches.
As of the end of last week, 86 abortion bans have been introduced across 31 states in the first several months of 2022 alone, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Of those introduced, six have been enacted—in Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Wyoming. A ban in Idaho mimics Texas’s S.B. 8—a six-week ban which although clearly unconstitutional, the Supreme Court has let stand. And three states—Arizona, Florida and Kentucky—are modeled on Mississippi’s 15-week ban, which is the law in question now before the Supreme Court.
New restrictions also include measures intended to limit access to medication abortion. Eight states have introduced legislation that would ban the use of the abortion pills altogether—though none of these bans have been implemented yet.
In the face of these threats, we’re heartened by the tireless work of grassroots activists on the front lines of the abortion care crisis in states like Texas and Mississippi. In Texas, where a woman was recently arrested and charged with murder for allegedly self-inducing an abortion, activists with local abortion funds organized to secure her release. In response to Lizelle Herrera’s arrest, activists organized by Frontera Fund protested outside the jail where she was being held, and calls for her release were soon pouring in from across the state as news coverage spread. If/When/How’s Repro Legal Defense Fund was able to post her $500,000 bail and she was released and the murder charges soon dropped.
Abortion rights advocates fear Herrera’s arrest is a cautionary tale of the battles that lie ahead. Maintaining access to abortion—and other vital reproductive health services—depends on just this kind of frontline activism that forced the Texas authorities to release Herrera and drop the charges. And you can depend on Ms. to bring you the information and connections you’ll need to join the frontlines.
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Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor |
