On this edition of Your Call, we'll discuss the fallout from the restrictive abortion laws in Texas and Mississippi. New data shows a 60 percent drop in abortions just a month after the six-week ban in Texas took effect. Providers in neighboring states say they saw an immediate increase in appointments and are now struggling to keep up with demand. Driving or flying to another state can be expensive, which makes obtaining an abortion incredibly difficult for low-income women and girls and people of color.
In December, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the constitutionality of Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, which provides no exceptions for rape or incest. That case presents a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, and abortion advocates are bracing themselves for the possibility that Roe could be overturned this June. If that happens, 21 states would ban most or all abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Guests:
Amy Littlefield, abortion access correspondent for The Nation, contributor for Reveal, and freelancer covering reproductive health
Michelle Colón, executive director of Sheroes, Sisters Helping Every Sister Rise and Organize
Dr. Michele Bratcher Goodwin, Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, author of several books, including Policing The Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood, and host of the Ms. Magazine podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin. In November, Professor Goodwin published a New York Times op-ed called I Was Raped by My Father. An Abortion Saved My Life
Web Resources:
Washington Post: Texas patients are rushing to get abortions before the state’s six-week limit. Clinics are struggling to keep up.
Reveal: A Strike at the Heart of Roe
KTLA: Texas abortions dropped 60% after heartbeat law took effect
New York Times: Where the Pro-Choice Movement Went Wrong
The New Republic: Texas Republicans Can't Stop All Medical Abortions
