With the U.S. Supreme Court’s pending ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States sits on the precipice of yet another loss of fundamental human rights, a further indicator of this country’s democratic backslide.
As activists across the country gear up to aid abortion seekers, some states have stepped up since the draft SCOTUS opinion was leaked last month. While about thirteen states have trigger laws that will automatically ban abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned and another thirteen are poised to enact bans or severe restrictions, other states have worked to protect the right to abortion instead.
If you live in a state with a trigger law or an abortion ban coming down the pike, it might be worth your while to investigate the strategies used by activists and organizers to introduce these laws that will protect abortion access.
California has long been a sanctuary for people seeking abortions. With multiple pro-abortion laws on the books, accessing abortion care and contraception has historically been relatively straightforward in the state. And now, with the Dobbs decision looming, Democratic lawmakers have stepped up to enshrine the right to an abortion in California’s state constitution last week. This will create a failsafe should the state’s legislature ever become predominantly anti-choice, but it would not expand on the already-progressive laws in the state.
In Delaware, a twenty-week abortion ban failed to pass in a state senate committee last week. Senate Bill 235 is one of a number of pieces of copycat legislation that have been introduced in multiple states across the country in recent years, despite the fact that just more than 1 percent of abortions happen after twenty-one weeks (and more often occur due to unexpected complications of either the fetus’s or pregnant person’s health or systematic barriers in place that prevent someone from obtaining an earlier abortion). Another law, House Bill 455, will be introduced on June 15, which would expand access to abortions and protect patients and providers. The Delaware state constitution already enshrines the same protections as Roe.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, a Democrat, signed one of the first laws of its kind last month, House Bill 5414, which will protect out-of-state abortion seekers from being prosecuted. Any person who travels from a state where abortion is illegal to get an abortion in Connecticut will be entitled to attorney’s fees and damages. Given potential civilian bounty hunters in places like Texas who might sue people seeking abortions for up to $10,000, this law will add a much-needed protection for patients.
Last month, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican, signed House Bill 1609, which amends a previous law that will now allow abortions after twenty-four weeks of pregnancy if there is a fetal anomaly. He also signed House Bill 1673, which curbs the requirement of having patients listen to ultrasounds before obtaining an abortion, often intended to dissaude. Before, an ultrasound was required for every abortion, but now an ultrasound is only required if an abortion is taking place after twenty-four weeks. Both laws took effect upon signing.
Maine Family Planning has allocated almost $2 million of the federal funding it recieves to more than fifty sexual and reproductive health care clinics across the state. Providers can be reimbursed for care given to patients who are enrolled in state health care for costs that Medicaid doesn’t cover. This will allow providers to give a greater quality of care to patients, especially those having abortions in the state.
On June 13, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signed a series of bills that will protect and expand access to abortion in the state. One of these bills aims to legally protect abortion patients regardless of whether they live in New York or are traveling to New York from out of state, including from states where the procedure is illegal. A second bill would increase the privacy of abortion providers and their patients, while a third would investigate fake women’s health clinics, or “crisis pregnancy centers,” that dish out harmful, pseudo-medical, and often unwanted religious advice to those who are already vulnerable. New York enshrined the rights of Roe in the 2019 Reproductive Health Act.
In May, members of the Ohio General Assembly announced that they will be introducing a joint resolution in both houses to add abortion protections to their state constitution. While passing these measures remains a longshot, the bills demonstrate strong Democratic support for abortion access in the state.
Michigan lawmakers have introduced a variety of avenues to protect abortion access should Roe fall, including a constitutional amendment to be voted on as a ballot initiative. If organizers collect 425,059 signatures, people will be able to vote to overturn the state’s trigger law which would prevent abortion from being outlawed in the state.
If you live in a state with a trigger law or an abortion ban coming down the pike, it might be worth your while to investigate the strategies used by activists and organizers to introduce these laws that will protect abortion access. Meeting with lawmakers in person, hosting phonebanks, collecting signatures, and writing letters to the editors of your local papers are some tried-and-true methods of getting your state representatives to vote to protect abortion rights.
As we prepare for Roe to fall, grassroots, on-the-ground organizing has never been more critical.