“Abortion is a constitutionally protected right. That was the promise the Supreme Court made to Americans in 1973. But after decades of targeted restrictions on abortion providers, the right seems just out of reach for millions. Crystal, a Pennsylvania-based abortion care worker, navigates every new hurdle with patients to get to their appointments, whether it’s legislative, economic or practical, but these days, it’s outside factors that get her down. “Anybody working in this field probably feels like we’re going to see the worst this year,” she told Jezebel. “The work gets harder and harder and harder. These last few months have been really difficult.”
Providing and receiving abortion care is only going to get more grim this year. Saturday is the 49th and possibly last anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the anniversary comes after a chilling year for bodily autonomy. In December, the ultra-conservative Supreme Court heard arguments to directly challenge the constitutionality of abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which capped off a year that saw 108 abortion restrictions passed in 19 states. After the passage of Texas’ S.B. 8 banning abortion after 6 weeks and instituting civil actions against anyone who aided or abetted an abortion in September, conservative state legislatures tripped over each other to pass their own Texas-style abortion bans, all while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across our respiratory systems.”
