J WHO v. Dobbs: May 2021 Announcement
This is NOT a TEST! This is NOT a TEST! – SCOTUS activity!
If you care about abortion access and value bodily autonomy, you should be concerned that Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) granted certiorari (agreed to hear arguments) in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (“J WHO”). J WHO involves a constitutional challenge to Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban. Lower courts have enjoined the law from taking effect, which means that the one abortion clinic in Mississippi can still provide abortions after 15 weeks’ gestation. For now. SCOTUS specifically agreed to hear arguments on this question: “whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional.” That question, dear friends, has been answered with a resounding YES since 1973 (Roe v. Wade) and reaffirmed in 1992 (Planned Parenthood v. Casey).
A Little Background
For almost 50 years, legal precedent has dictated that laws that ban abortion pre-viability are unconstitutional (the viability framework). But that doesn’t mean that abortion access pre-viability is either a given or easy in every state. SCOTUS has decided two abortion cases in the past five years — Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016) and most recently June Medical Services v. Russo (2020). June Medical, although technically a win, still imperiled abortion rights because SCOTUS should have never heard arguments in the case in the first place. June Medical also provided a platform for Chief Justice John Roberts to publicize a roadmap for how anti-abortion folks could chip away at abortion rights by his proposal of a more flexible standard for analyzing abortion restrictions.
In 2020, Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Court, which means there is now a 6-3 conservative, anti-abortion majority. J Who is the conservative majority’s opportunity to completely disembowel Roe, Casey, and Whole Women’s Health.
What Does This All Mean?
If SCOTUS reverses 50 years of precedent and decides that not all pre-viability prohibitions on abortion are unconstitutional, over 20 states would eliminate abortion access completely. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, 24 states are openly “hostile” to abortion. Ten states (Idaho, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana) have trigger bans that would go into effect the moment SCOTUS limits or overturns Roe, making abortion automatically illegal. The 14 states that do not have trigger bans would move very quickly to pass legislation that would severely limit or ban abortion. Large swaths of the country will have little to no access to legal abortion and become abortion deserts.
What Does This Mean For Rhode Island?
Thankfully, because of your hard work, Rhode Island protected the right to abortion in 2019 by passing the Reproductive Privacy Act. Individuals who live in states that ban abortion will still need and seek out the services. Folks will need to travel to many miles to get the healthcare they need. Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Illinois, California, Washington, and Oregon will become abortion safe havens for those living in abortion deserts. The cost of abortion (travel, the procedure, housing, childcare, time off work) will increase exponentially and the need for robust abortion funds will be tremendous.
What YOU Can Do
It is now more important than ever for Rhode Island to pass the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act, which would eliminate insurance coverage bans for abortion services for Rhode Islanders. It is critical that Rhode Island ensures that all of its residents are able to access affordable abortion. The passage of the EACA would free up tons of funds from abortion funds that could then be distributed to out-of-state folks, undocumented folks, etc. Post-Roe, we will need to help our friends and family living in abortion deserts to afford the abortion care they need.
Help us continue our work to pass the EACA. Your donation today will help us keep up the fight and ensure that, whatever happens on the federal level, Rhode Island is an abortion safe haven for everyone.
In addition, The Womxn Project Board of Directors will announce it’s national and additional state involvement in a range of actions, support, and research that will be done working up to the actual hearing next season.
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