Attacks on Reproductive Rights

For 49 years after Roe v. Wade, Americans had the right to choose to continue or end a pregnancy. Two years ago, with Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court overturned that right. Donald Trump has boasted that he is personally responsible for ‘killing’ Roe v. Wade by putting anti-choice justices on the Court. Now, MAGA Republicans are attacking reproductive freedoms from contraception to IVF, with a national abortion ban as their goal.  

Attacks on reproductive rights are widely unpopular. Still, 14 red states have enacted near-total abortion bans and 27 states have abortion bans based on gestational duration. Nevada currently has an abortion ban after 24 weeks of pregnancy, but enshrining abortion rights into our state constitution will be on the ballot this November.  

The Dobbs decision has been devastating on families in huge swaths of the country. Pregnant women are being denied necessary medical care because of a lack of abortion providers and doctors fear legal repercussions for providing it. Plus, travel to blue states for reproductive needs is difficult both logistically and financially, particularly for poor women.  

The use of medication abortion via mifepristone has not been restricted by the Supreme Court. However, 19 states have banned medication abortion via telemedicine, adding to the challenge of providing adequate reproductive care.  

The Biden-Harris administration wants to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade. However, they have a messaging problem: 17 % of voters overall and 12 % of Democrats blame President Biden for ending Roe, according to New York Times/Siena College polls. Some less-engaged voters inaccurately associate the overturn with Biden because he was president when the conservative-controlled Supreme Court issued the decision. 

Democratic campaigns must better communicate with voters on what MAGA Republicans are doing, because reproductive healthcare issues could substantially impact the election. 

Joe Holomuzki, Carson City Nevada.

Submitted to Reno Gazette Journal Letters to the Editor on 30 June 2024