Ever since, and even before, the 1973 Supreme Court Ruling of Roe v. Wade, reproductive healthcare has been a hot topic in the United States. Throughout this year, there have been many ups and downs for abortion rights advocates. The discussion around abortion care recently sparked again as President Trump began the process of nominating a judge to fill former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s spot on the U.S. Supreme Court after her passing on September 18, 2020.
Today, accessible reproductive healthcare remains impossible for many Americans due to various anti-abortion restrictions. In some states, laws are currently in place that restrict insurance coverage for abortions. Furthermore, many abortion providers are required by law to insist that patients wait a medically unneeded period before their procedure. Many patients are also obligated to attend biased counseling before consenting to the abortion. This legislation, and other laws as well, creates obstacles that consistently undermine the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that made abortion a national right in 1973.
As President Trump, conservative Justices, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell voice their ideologies, they lay the groundwork for anti-abortion state legislators to enforce new abortion restrictions. Anti-abortion state lawmakers use this as an opportunity to undermine abortion care as a part of their ongoing agenda to change or eliminate the access to abortion providers in their state. Moreover, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became increasingly easy for states to create obstacles preventing people from getting abortions. Governors in several states deemed abortions as elective or nonessential procedures as the entire healthcare system was focused on the COVID-19 outbreak at hand. However, in April, the American Medical Association issued a statement in support of abortion care during the pandemic and determined that it should be physicians, not politicians, that decide which procedures can be performed and which must be delayed.
Despite some setbacks for abortion rights in the past year, there have been multiple court rulings that have made reproductive care more accessible. These cases include the June Medical Services v. Russo Supreme Court case. It was ruled that Lousianna’s admitting privileges law was unconstitutional, and that it must be abolished. Additionally, a Maryland District court enjoined the Trump administration rule that required people who were insured by plans under the Affordable Care Act to pay separate insurance payments for abortion care. Georgia also abolished their six-week abortion ban which prohibited women from having abortions later than six-weeks after conception, a point before most know they are even pregnant.
On September 26, 2020, President Trump nominated U.S. Federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s spot on the U.S. Supreme Court. Previously, President Trump nominated Barrett to the U.S. Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit on May 8, 2017. The senate then confirmed her on October 31, 2017. In 2016, while Barrett was at the University of Notre Dame, she was asked about abortion rights in the United States. Barrett responded by saying, “I think don’t think the core case – Roe’s core holding that, you know, women have a right to an abortion – I don’t think that would change. But I think the question of whether people can get very late-term abortions, how many restrictions can be put on clinics – I think that would change,” as per NPR. In addition to Barrett’s remarks at the University of Notre Dame, she has also caused many to believe she is against abortions because of her past cases surrounding the subject. During her time as a federal appeals court judge, Barrett voted to hear arguments that could have overruled the ban of Indiana’s abortion restrictions. Barrett is already receiving support from anti-abortion organizations and many people, including Katie Watson, an attorney and bioethicist at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, believe that Barrett will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.
It has been almost fifty years since abortion was legalized throughout the United States. Since then, much progress has been made but the fight for abortion rights continues to this day. During a 2016 presidential debate, President Trump promised to appoint justices to the Supreme Court that would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Amy Coney Barrett is a serious threat to abortion rights in this country. A woman’s right to choose is one of many rights that are on the line during the upcoming 2020 presidential election.