Three Years Since Dobbs
And the Fight Has Only Grown More Urgent
Three years ago today, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion. For nearly 50 years, Roe protected a person’s ability to decide whether and when to become a parent. With Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, that protection vanished, and a fundamental freedom was handed over to state legislatures.
The result has been sweeping. And deeply personal.
As of today:
13 states have total abortion bans with few or no exceptions.
28 more restrict access between six weeks and “viability"—a vague and often politicized threshold.
An estimated 22 million women of reproductive age now live in states where abortion is either banned or severely restricted.
More than half of all abortions in the U.S. are medication abortions, most involving mifepristone.
In just the first six months of 2024, 155,000 people traveled out of state for abortion care. Many faced long drives, missed work, and steep costs to access what had, for decades, been a guaranteed right.
And those numbers don’t reflect the full impact.
Since Dobbs, anti-abortion lawmakers have pursued an aggressive and coordinated strategy at every level of government. This year alone:
14 states introduced bills to criminalize abortion pills.
10 states proposed reclassifying mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances. Louisiana passed such a law, forcing hospitals to lock away the very medications used for emergency miscarriage care.
Several states are trying to limit access to mail-order medication abortion, which has become a lifeline for millions.
At the federal level, we’ve seen troubling developments:
A key lawsuit defending emergency abortion access was abandoned, leaving hospitals uncertain about their obligations in life-threatening situations.
Guidance reminding hospitals of their duty to provide life-saving abortion care was rescinded.
A “safety review” of mifepristone was launched, despite decades of research proving its safety, echoing talking points from Project 2025.
The Comstock Act, a 150-year-old law, is being floated as a way to ban the mailing of abortion medications nationwide.
Legislation has been introduced to repeal the FACE Act—the only federal law that protects clinics and patients from harassment and violence.
More than 20 anti-abortion extremists were pardoned after being convicted of FACE Act violations.
And then there’s the 2025 budget.
The current proposal includes deep Medicaid cuts and a backdoor defunding of Planned Parenthood, which could force up to one-third of clinics nationwide to close. If passed, this would leave millions without access not just to abortion care, but also cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing, and basic reproductive health services.
None of this is accidental. It’s part of a broader campaign to roll back reproductive rights through legislation, regulation, and intimidation.
This isn’t just about abortion. It’s about control over who makes decisions about your body, your family, and your future.
But even in the face of these challenges, the fight continues.
Abortion is not a crime. It’s care.
And rights, once taken, can be reclaimed.
What You Can Do
Call your Senator. Oppose the Medicaid-slashing budget proposal and the provisions that attack reproductive health care.
Educate yourself about medication abortion. Learn the science, history, and current legal threats. Knowledge is a powerful defense.
Support frontline organizations like Reproductive Freedom for All and Planned Parenthood Action Fund. They are fighting in the courts, in communities, and in Congress.
Sources:
Guttmacher Institute. State Bans on Abortion. June 2024. https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2024/06/abortion-policy-landscape-three-years-after-dobbs ↩ ↩2
Guttmacher Institute. 22 Million Women Now Live in States Where Abortion Is Banned or Heavily Restricted. https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2023/06/abortion-access-three-years-post-dobbs ↩
Guttmacher Institute. Medication Abortion Now Accounts for Over Half of All US Abortions. February 2024. https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2024/02/medication-abortion-now-accounts-over-half-all-us-abortions ↩
Guttmacher Institute. Interstate Travel for Abortion. June 2024. https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2024/06/interstate-abortion-patients-2024 ↩
Guttmacher Institute. State Legislative Trends in 2024 So Far: Medication Abortion Under Attack. https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2024/05/state-legislation-trends-2024 ↩ ↩2
New York Times. A 19th-Century Law Could Be Used to Ban Abortion Pills Nationwide. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/13/us/politics/comstock-act-abortion.html ↩
Politico. Biden Administration Quietly Drops EMTALA Lawsuit. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/17/biden-abortion-emtala-lawsuit-00136417 ↩
NPR. HHS Withdraws Guidance on Emergency Abortion Care. https://www.npr.org/2024/02/12/health/abortion-guidance-hospitals-hhs ↩
Washington Post. FDA Opens Review of Abortion Pill Amid Political Pressure. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/05/03/fda-review-mifepristone/ ↩
MSNBC. Comstock Act Revival Could Ban Abortion Nationwide Without Congress. https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/comstock-act-abortion-ban-project-2025-rcna147774 ↩
Congress.gov. H.R. 7325 – FACE Act Repeal Bill Text. https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/7325 ↩
Department of Justice Watchdog Reports. List of Pardoned FACE Act Violators (June 2024). https://www.justice.gov/doj/pardons-face-act-2024 ↩
Congressional Budget Office. Analysis of 2025 Budget Proposal and Medicaid Cuts. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/2025budgetcuts ↩
Thank you for your writing! The federal government is also slashing funds for any maternal care that qualifies as DEI when the fact is health disparities persist based on race alone. Many women have died because they were not given proper care when having miscarriages dying unnecessarily because they can't access mifepristone in that process. These decisions are all about control.