Potential outcomes, and what comes next
Since the ascension of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the High Court, there has been a nationwide increase in antiabortion legislation. Between January and July 2021, more than 90 abortion restrictions were passed, more restrictions in any single year since Roe v Wade was decided in 1973.8 In the past decade, more than 500 laws that restrict abortion have been passed across the United States, and studies indicate that 87% to 90% of American counties today are without a single abortion provider.21,22 Abortion supporters are particularly concerned about the future of Roe v Wade, with a conservative Supreme Court set to hear the challenge to SB8 on November 1, 2021, followed by a second case from Mississippi challenging the constitutionality of a 15-week ban on abortion in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization (read about this case in “Supreme Court Case: Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization: What you need to know,” at https://www.mdedge.com/obgyn/article/245853/practice-management/supreme-court-case-dobbs-v-jackson-womens-health).23,24
At the time of this article writing, we do not know how the Supreme Court will rule on the variety of challenges to the right to privacy. That said, advocates believe it is safe to assume that the landscape of abortion access is likely to change dramatically in the coming year.
Action items: What can you do?
It is important to remember that not only does SB8 severely limit access to safe and legal abortion but also it makes pregnancy dangerous for all pregnant people in Texas and places doubt in providers’ minds on how to manage medical care for their patients.
On the federal level, many advocates are focusing on codifying the right to choose and protecting abortion care from medically unnecessary restrictions. The Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021 (WHPA) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Veronica Escobar (D-TX), and it passed in the US House of Representatives in a 218-211 vote.25 WHPA now awaits a vote in a deeply divided US Senate. Although WHPA has wide popular support—an estimated 61% of Americans support the legislation—its future is unclear in the Senate.26 Currently, WHPA has 48 supporters, all Democrats. You can contact your legislators via the links below to encourage them to pass WHPA. If you have friends and colleagues in states in which the Senator does not support WHPA, forward these links and encourage them to sign on:
- Equal Access to Abortion, Everywhere: https://actforwomen.org/take-action/
- Physicians for Reproductive Rights: https://secure.everyaction.com/p/MOuAyW7F3Ua-FmaGtGD4Kw2
- Center for Reproductive Rights: https://reproductiverights.org/whpa-take-action/
Many also are organizing a crowdfunding campaign to support abortion providers as well as legislative resources. Additional groups to donate specifically to SB8 efforts include27:
- Equal Access to Abortion, Everywhere: https://actforwomen.org/whpa-faqs/
- Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, Inc: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-greater-texas/senate-bill-8
- Texas Equal Access Fund: https://secure.everyaction.com/ztEh8Qeh80-k2k1Yuo5gTw2
- ActBlue Charities: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/txfunds
Furthermore, it is more important than ever to support work within states to support abortion rights. State-specific abortion advocacy groups and their efforts include:
- Avow Foundation for Abortion Access: https://avowtexas.org/support/
- Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, Inc: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-greater-texas
- NARAL Pro-Choice Texas: https://prochoicetexas.org/
- Texas Abortion Access Network: https://txabortionaccessnetwork.org/