Monday, June 24, marked two years since the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) eliminated the federal right to abortion when they ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization by a vote of 6-3.
The majority’s decision was made possible by the appointment of three right-wing, anti-abortion justices by former president Donald Trump.
Because of that ruling, 14 states have total abortion bans and 27 states have bans. And abortion patients are being forced to travel farther distances to get care, according to data collected by Guttmacher Institute and reported by the NY Times. Out-of-state travel for abortions more than doubled in 2023 compared with 2019.
The Dobbs ruling was never meant to be a single ruling—but it was a pivotal moment in a deliberate and insidious strategy of endless policy efforts from extremists to chip away at our rights.
In early June, SCOTUS issued a ruling maintaining access to the abortion medication mifepristone, but leaves the door open for future challenges. Then, a ruling about whether pregnant patients can get an abortion in the case of an emergency was handed back to the lower courts in Idaho, sending a signal that the battle over abortion care is far from over.
The fact that these cases are before SCOTUS demonstrates how the anti-abortion movement will continue to advance their agenda through bogus and flimsy cases through extremist judges whenever possible.
Nationally, the conversation has focused on abortions in the case of life-threatening emergencies. But make no mistake, abortion is essential health care, and our work remains focused on unapologetically defending abortion access for anyone who wants care.
As the threat of a second Trump administration looms on the horizon, the stakes are high. Yet, voters have shown us over the last two years in Ohio, Kansas, Michigan, and others, that when abortion is on the ballot, reproductive freedom wins.
That’s why Pro-Choice Washington’s work this summer is focused on electing reproductive freedom champions like Bob Ferguson for Governor, and Emily Randall for the 6th Congressional District.
In addition, there will be important races across Washington that will need our collective community support to ensure that our reproductive rights are not at stake. You can read about these races in our annual Voters’ Guide, a comprehensive guide of candidates that Pro-Choice Washington has interviewed and endorsed because of their reproductive freedom values and beliefs.
We hope you join us for a few of our summer get-out-the-vote events where you can get to know these candidates and engage with fellow reproductive freedom activists in your community.
See you soon!
