If Rowe is repealed, there is no guarantee that people will be able to have abortions in liberal states Opinion

Amanda Gene Stevenson and Kate Coleman-Minahan

Liberal politicians are quickly positioning their states as an abortion paradise leak draft On the evening of May 2, 2022, a U.S. Supreme Court decision was promulgated on May 2, 2022, stating that the court could overturn Rowe v. Wade’s decision.

Less than an hour after the leak was made public, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new state amendment that legally protects the right to abortion.

“We can’t trust SCOTUS,” News wrote on Twitter, using the stellation of the Supreme Court, “to protect the right to abortion, so we will do it ourselves. Women will remain under protection here. “

New York, Connecticut, Oregon and five other states have also proposed or taken new measures over the past few months protecting the right to abortion.

If Rowe v. Wade’s landmark 1973 ruling is overturned, abortion will no longer be protected by federal law, and states may individually prohibit or allow abortion.

However, like social scientists World Health Organization study how abortion and contraception policies affect people’s lives, we believe it is important to understand that people from states that can ban abortion may not be able to easily perform abortions in more liberal places.

Abortion laws in liberal states

Thirteen states quickly ban abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Rowe v. Wade.

But in some of the 25 states that do not expect an abortion ban under such a scenario, there are laws that minors include their parents before they can have an abortion.

There are also laws that restrict which health professionals may offer abortion and create bans on abortion after a certain point in pregnancy as well as health insurance policies it will not pay for one.

Colorado, for example, in March 2022 passed a law confirming the right to abortion. But Colorado still has it parental notice lawban on Medicaid pays for abortion, and does not require private insurers to cover abortion.

In March, California also passed a law which eliminates the cost of abortion out of pocket for those who have health insurance. But California is still does not allow abortions after fetal viability.

Decades of research shows that restrictions on abortion, such as this policy, can harm people in need of abortion by delay and sometimes even prevention them from receiving.

Parental involvement

In 11 states where abortions are unlikely to be banned, teenagers under the age of 18 obeys the law requiring them to notify or obtain consent from one or both parents prior to abortion.

Most teens talk to their parents their pregnancy decisionsbut those who don’t often feel they can’t for important reasons. They are frequent correctly predict the negative reaction of parents to their pregnancy and abortion, and may face physical or emotional abuse.

Some proponents believe that parental involvement laws can lead to better care for pregnant teenagers. But research shows that forcing young people to attract parents in general does not increase parental supportbut instead puts teenagers at risk of harm.

States with parental involvement laws, including Colorado, Delaware and Maryland, allow young people who cannot bring their parents to go to court to seek judicial redress from a judge.

Yet these are court detours lead to delayed abortion. Judges also sometimes deny these exceptions. In Texas, for example, judges refused 7% of bypass requests in 2021.

It can also be severe and traumatic for young people who are pregnant, ask a judge to ask personal questions about sex, contraception and their family life.

Restrictions on abortion

Eighteen of the 25 states that do not now ban abortion prohibit abortion after a certain point in pregnancyusually in the second or third trimester.

There are some exceptions to these rules if the life or health of the pregnant woman is in danger.

Such bans can make people get pregnant even if they do not want to, or if there are medical problems that occur in late pregnancy, such as diagnosed fetal abnormalities.

Women denied abortions more likely than women who have done desirable abortions to suffer economically, stay with tough partners and experience health problems during and after pregnancy.

Some liberal states with such policies, including California, Washington, Illinois and New York, are likely to experience an influx of people who want to have an abortion if they are no longer able to have an abortion in their home state.

These people will have to save money, travel and expect meetings due to increased demand. These factors can lead to the need to terminate a pregnancy later in pregnancyand eventually it becomes unacceptable to have an abortion.

Insurance limits

You can pay for an abortion out of your own pocket, without health insurance cost up to $ 750 in the first trimester, with costs rising as pregnancy progresses. A 2021 poll found that the majority of U.S. residents cannot afford the unexpected emergency cost of $ 400.

But 18 of the 25 states that do not expect an abortion ban if Rowe v. Wade is lifted require people who need an abortion to pay for the procedure out of pocket.

These states either allow private health insurance providers to exclude abortion from their services, or states do not pay for abortion through Medicaid.

Paying out of pocket for an abortion can also lead people to detain get one. These costs may be prohibitive and sometimes to prevent people from abortion.

Labor restrictions

Abortion providers in the states surrounding Texas have failed to keep up with demand thousands of Texans apply for abortion services outside the state.

It offers a preview of what can happen in states where abortions remain legal when residents of 25 states awaiting an abortion ban are forced to travel for care. In short, demand will outpace supply.

It is expected that the eight states will not ban abortions, but only allow doctors to perform all or some types of abortions. They may have difficulty meeting this expected increased demand if they do not allow, for example, nurses or midwives to provide care.

Studies have shown that these health professionals are also trained to perform abortions as well for them it is safe.

Adding these other health professionals A set of providers prepared to perform abortions may be key in providing enough health care providers to meet the potential growth in demand for abortion.

States that want to be a haven for people in need of abortion need to critically review their existing policies in light of their impact in real life.

Amanda Gene Stevenson is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. Kate Coleman-Minahan is an associate professor at the University of Colorado at Denver. They wrote this piece for Conversationwhere he first appeared.