Concerns for reproductive rights rise as the election nears
Protest in front of the U.S Supreme Court after the overturn of Roe v. Wade (Victoria Pickering/Flickr)
Reproductive justice advocates, policymakers, patients and service providers are expressing their concern with the overturn of Roe v. Wade as the election nears.
It's been two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, giving the power to regulate abortion to the states.
According to data from Planned Parenthood Action Fund, state laws on abortion now vary, from criminalizing and causing restrictions such as bans after six weeks of pregnancy in Florida to a complete ban on abortion access in more than half of U.S. states.
“More than half of Black women, trans and nonbinary people of reproductive age live in states, most of which are in the South, where the closest abortion provider is as many as three states away,” explains Serina Floyd, the Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood in Washington, D.C.
According to data from The Commonwealth Fund, “the maternal death rates were 62 percent higher in 2020 in abortion-restriction states than in abortion-access states.”
Areas where treatment is accessible such as Washington D.C. and Maryland are, “able to provide care for patients who are not able to access it in other states and we have seen a significant increase in the number of patients seeking care at our health centers because of bans in their home states, particularly in the South,” Floyd says.
Gov. Wes Moore signed several bills in the 2023 legislative session to protect reproductive freedoms and shield providers from criminal prosecution or civil penalties for providing reproductive care in Maryland.
Madison Houston, a junior information science major, shared her thoughts on access to reproductive care in the area.
“A lot of girls don't have that access elsewhere,” Houston said. “That can be devastating for someone of our age, to have a child when they're not financially ready, or emotionally ready, that can really ruin someone's life.”
Miriam Levitin, the Sexual Health Program Assistant Coordinator at the University of Maryland Health Center works to help students have access to the resources that they need to support their sexual health.
“The Health Center offers pretty comprehensive gynecological sexual and reproductive health care. Many different types of contraception are available, including birth control pills, shots, implants and IUDs,” said Levitin.
“We offer free over-the-counter emergency contraception and free safer sex supplies. Patients can also schedule pregnancy testing and counseling with a provider and these are all appointments for medical services that can be billed to a patient's insurance plan or paid for out of pocket.”
“The University of Maryland campus Health Center does not provide fertility services, abortion services, pregnancy care or postpartum health care but can refer patients to off-campus providers,” Levitin explains.
Vice President Harris argued her views on abortion access at the second presidential debate on ABC with former President Trump.
“Understand, if Donald Trump were to be re-elected, he will sign a national abortion ban that would be monitoring your pregnancies, your miscarriages.
Maryland State Delegate Nicole A. Williams was one of the sponsors for Maryland House Bill 705 “Declaration of Rights - Right to Reproductive Freedom”, a bill that enacted reproductive freedom as a fundamental right.
Williams says a national abortion ban would negatively affect Maryland because it would result in state law being superseded by federal law.
States such as Texas, where abortion is completely banned, show a glimpse of how women are already living with the aftermath of these policies.
Amanda Zurawski, a Texas resident, was denied access to abortion just two days after the ban had gone into effect. She was told to wait until her life was severely in danger to have the exception to provide the healthcare.
“He said that there should be some form of punishment for women who have an abortion. Women like me,” Zurawski said, referring to former President Trump during a press call.
Joy Mash, a senior majoring in information science says, “the appropriate public response from an official would be to ask them, what about the woman who's actively miscarrying? What if it was someone you love? What about this person who wants to have to go through this experience this year because of what was passed? What do you say to them? Whenever the argument is brought about, they never know what to say with everyday occurrences”.
Jessica McClure is the president of EMILY's List, an organization that trains and supports Democratic pro-choice women candidates. She says she was moved by the way the vice president highlighted the stories of women impacted by abortion bans.
“She understands that this issue is deeply personal and what it means for women to be living with the consequences of these abortion bans” she said. “Our rights, freedoms and lives should not be at the mercy of courts, bureaucracies, politicians.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misspelled Miriam Levitin last name. This story has been updated.