Violence Against Women
Today, as many as 1 in 3 women live in states with unavailable or restricted access to abortion services. Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court on June 24th, 2022 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, severely restricting women’s rights to bodily autonomy and access to abortion services. In 2022 alone, state legislators introduced 563 provisions to restrict access to abortion, and 50 of those restrictions were signed into law the same year. Many of these laws do not contain exceptions for pregnancy as a result of rape or incest. Even in states where abortion is allowed in these specific cases, the process is often poorly understood and implemented, and require reporting to law enforcement causing additional burdens and hurdles. Clinics offering abortion services have been at full or over capacity as women travel across state lines to seek services.
Poor women are disproportionately impacted by abortion bans. Women who are underemployed or partially employed already face barriers to abortion services when they are uninsured or underinsured. The Hyde Amendment prevents federal funds from being used for abortions, meaning that women enrolled in Medicaid cannot get abortions that are covered by health insurance, and often are forced to carry out their pregnancies. Studies show that women who were denied an abortion experienced a 78% increase in debt and an 81% increase in bankruptcies, evictions, and court judgments than those who were able to get an abortion.
Abortion in states with restrictions and bans has ultimately been criminalized. Women seeking abortions in states that have bans face criminal penalties and enter into the criminal legal system, including jail time anywhere from 1 to 20 years, and in particularly severe cases like Alabama and Texas can lead to life in prison. Others impose fines to individuals seeking abortions, individuals “aiding and abetting” in abortion, and health practitioners assisting abortion up to $100,000 and the loss of medical licenses. Even in states where abortion services are legal, doctors are hesitant to provide care because of fear of penalties even when women’s lives are at risk.
The legal system and state government inflict and enforce violence against women. Laws stipulating access to abortions are vague, unclear, and confusing. Women often have no choice but to delay care in taking time to access abortion services where they are available, leading to severe health impacts and increased danger to their own life. There is a need to investigate the individual and social impacts since the abortion ban and the implications this carries into the future of women’s and reproductive rights and genuine solutions to state sanctioned violence. Surge Reproductive Justice in Seattle uses multiple strategies such as community organizing, political education, policy, and community research to advance reproductive justice.
References
Diamant, J., Mohamed, B., and Leppert, R. March 25, 2024. “What the data says about abortion in the U.S.”. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/03/25/what-the-data-says-about-abortion-in-the-us/
Ephross, P. and Nash, E. December 2022. State Policy Trends 2022: In a Devastating Year, US Supreme Court’s Decision to Overturn Roe Leads to Bans, Confusion and Chaos. Guttmacher Institute. https://www.guttmacher.org/2022/12/state-policy-trends-2022-devastating-year-us-supreme-courts-decision-overturn-roe-leads
Estep, Sara. March 2024. “Protecting and Increasing Abortion Access.” Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/playbook-for-the-advancement-of-women-in-the-economy/protecting-and-increasing-abortion-access/