For nearly 50 years in the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court asserted that the U.S. Constitution protected the right to access abortion under Roe v. Wade. But on June 24, 2022, the Dobbs decision changed that and allowed states to make their own laws about who can have access to abortion care, and under what circumstances.
Since then, 14 states have banned abortion, and six states have introduced a gestational limit between six to 12 weeks, according to KFF. As Salon has reported, the consequences are harrowing. Medical school graduates are avoiding states with abortion bans exacerbating the maternal healthcare crisis. Pregnant women are being forced to cross state lines to terminate nonviable pregnancies. This week, Amnesty International USA released a report detailing how the aftermath of Dobbs is a “human rights crisis.”
