A protestor attends a Girls’s March rally in Phoenix, Arizona in 2022.
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Mario Tama/Getty Photographs
A protestor attends a Girls’s March rally in Phoenix, Arizona in 2022.
Mario Tama/Getty Photographs
A lot has occurred with abortion entry within the practically two years because the Supreme Court docket overturned Roe v. Wade.
State legal guidelines have been altering continuously, new bans have taken impact, and there have been a slew of lawsuits and poll measures.
All Issues Thought of host Mary Louise Kelly sat down with NPR’s reproductive rights correspondent Elissa Nadworny, and Selena Simmons-Duffin, who covers well being coverage at NPR, to look at the state of abortion.
There are complete bans on abortion with very restricted exceptions in 14 states. A number of extra states have six-week bans.
“Florida was the most up-to-date place for this [six-week ban] to take impact. There are states like Nebraska that ban abortion after 12 weeks. In Arizona, it is 15 weeks. Greater than half of the states have restrictions. And in these states, the variety of abortions has dropped drastically,” Nadworny mentioned.
However regardless of that pattern, the general variety of abortions within the U.S. has really gone up — due partially to the rising accessibility of telehealth appointments that may present medicine abortions.
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What voters need
On the subject of the poll, Nadworny says abortion rights has been a profitable situation.
“Nationally, polling reveals 6 in 10 Individuals say abortion ought to be authorized in all or most instances, however that may fluctuate by state,” she mentioned. “However since Dobbs, voters in six states have weighed in on constitutional amendments on abortion. Voters selected entry to abortion every time.”
4 states — Colorado, Florida, Maryland and South Dakota — will likely be voting on the correct to an abortion within the upcoming elections. Six extra states, together with Arizona and Missouri, are working to get it on the poll.
Individuals collect at Utah’s state capitol in 2022 after the leaked draft opinion by Supreme Court docket Justice Samuel Alito steered that the court docket was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.
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Voters this fall can also be reacting to what they’ve seen when their entry to reproductive healthcare turns into restricted.
In states with extra restrictive bans, like Idaho, dozens of OB-GYNs have left the state, in line with one physician who spoke to NPR. And three maternity wards have closed because the state’s abortion ban took impact. Recruiting issues are widespread for hospitals which might be working in states with abortion bans.
What may change
Simmons-Duffin says that whereas abortion entry is getting rolled again in some states, it’s gaining extra protections and funding in others. When Roe v. Wade was in place, there have been a lot of restrictions and laws about when and the way the process could possibly be carried out.
“Some states like Michigan, Colorado, Minnesota, California and others have made strikes to undo a few of these laws,” she mentioned. “They’re eliminating issues like ready durations and gestational limits,” Simmons-Duffin mentioned.
“They’re permitting extra varieties of suppliers like nurse practitioners to offer abortions. They’re coaching extra suppliers on abortions. Some states have stockpiled Mifepristone, one of many medicines that can be utilized for abortion, in case entry is curtailed sooner or later.”
Simmons-Duffin added that some locations, like New York Metropolis, have made abortion hubs a part of the well being division. “So you may name a quantity and discover out the place to get an abortion and tips on how to get funding to cowl the prices,” she mentioned.
In the meantime, there are nonetheless two main choices on abortion pending earlier than the Supreme Court docket which might be set to be introduced subsequent month:
“Each of those choices will likely be coming down in early summer season, only a few months earlier than the election. So no matter what the justices determine, it is going to catapult abortion again into the headlines at a key time for voters,” Simmons-Duffin added.
For the complete dialogue on abortion within the U.S., hearken to the episode of Think about This by tapping the play button on the prime of the web page.