Abortion is no longer a constitutional right.
Roe v. Wade has been overturned. So here's some links to cope.
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The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has just been announced, overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established the right to abortion.
The internet is exploding right now. Something that was already confusing and hard to talk about just got even harder. Given my work reporting on gender issues in recent months, many people have reached out to me and asked for resources to read and share. With the intention of being as thoughtful and inclusive as possible, here’s a few links I’ve found helpful. I hope they can help you, too.
First, here’s the full decision.
“We therefore hold that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey must be overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the opinion for the court. Here he mentions Planned Parenthood v. Casey is the 1992 Supreme Court decision that reaffirmed the right to abortion.
Listen to an anti-abortion voice react to the decision: Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, the country's largest organization that opposes abortion rights, reacts to the decision.
President Joe Biden has directed the Health and Human Services Department to ensure abortion and contraception medications are available "to the fullest extent possible.”
Abortion is not illegal nationwide - yet. The issue will go to each state to decide.
Now that there is no constitutional right to abortion, there will be 50 separate state-level conversations about access happening at once. More Democratic states are taking steps to enshrine the right while Conservative lawmakers want all-out bans — typically with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Here’s an overview of abortion laws from the Guttmacher Institute.
Do you know the abortion laws in your state? Here’s what abortion looks like in every state — right now.
In these states, abortion access will no longer be accessible.
Birth control and emergency contraception are protected — for now.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court needs to look at “all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents,” including the case of Griswold v. Connecticut, which ruled a ban on contraceptives unconstitutional.
Donating
There’s a lot of urgency among pro-abortion advocates to donate to abortion funds right away. Abortion funds groups provide support and resources to people seeking abortion care, and will play an increasingly important role as people in restrictive states are forced to travel across state lines to receive care. But funds in some states with abortion bans that could take effect quickly have paused accepting donations — this is because they’re worried if they’ll legally be able to use the money once restricts go into effect. Donating to abortion funds is only as effective as researching which funds are accepting money and where that support is going.
If you have a penis:
Roe v Wade: men benefit from abortion rights too – and should speak about them more.
Column: Millions of men support our abortion rights. We need to help them become stronger allies.
The end of Roe v. Wade is a men's rights issue, too — literally
Male birth control: What's getting in the way, sexism or science?
The battle against medication abortion is ramping up
Earlier this year I wrote:
Medication abortions accounted for more than half of all US abortions in 2020 and are poised to continue as a preferred method as further restrictions on abortion access cause in-person clinics to be overwhelmed in some states or shuttered in others.
Reproductive rights are a gender issue, not a women-only issue.
Something I’ve already seen happening in response to this news is a lot of white cisgender women are getting the microphone. While celebrities and influencers should speak up for causes they care about, but it’s vital to create an inclusive space for all feminismS/gendered experiences to react.
Some advocates say one easy way to do this is when disseminating news about Roe, is to use gender neutral langauge such as “pregnant people” or “birthing people” rather than “women” in your social media posts. This accounts for the experiences of transgender people who seek abortions, too.
I’m Black. I Thought White Feminism Would Keep Abortion Safe.
Is the Abortion Rights Movement Becoming a White Woman’s Story?
What is self-managed abortion?
Self-managed abortion involves ending a pregnancy without the help of a medical provider. As people are forced to take more drastic measures to end their pregnancies, self-managed abortion, typically using FDA-approved medication abortion, is a more likely option. But the legal risks to self-managing are increasing. One reproductive rights attorney, Rafa Kidvai, told me in September:
“I think people in the reproductive movement thought that while [the number of criminalized self-managed cases] are not high now, everything is pointing to that this could happen, and we want to stop this in its tracks,” Kidvai said. “We don’t want it to be hundreds of prosecutions before we’re ready.”
What is self managed abortion? What are the legal vs. medical risks?
How young people are are championing self-managed abortion options.
Self-Managed abortion is a nightmare in the surveillance age.
Other links
Some domestic violence victims see abortion as vital option that would be lost post-Roe.
Gen Z reconsiders sex in the wake of a possible post-Roe world.
How will treatment for miscarriage be impacted? And other health questions.
Here are companies that will cover abortion-related travel expenses.
Crisis pregnancy centers are coming up a lot as an alternative care route for people with unwanted pregnancies. Read more about them.
In many countries, abortion is protected by law, not court decision.
This article will be updated with new links and content as the story develops.