This year, Nurx released a survey about what women are really saying, feeling, and thinking since the overturn of Roe v. Wade. The findings unveiled women’s heightened anxiety, longer wait times for essential care, and their considerations to change where they live or work. We share these same sentiments. 

Roe v. Wade was the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to abortion in the United States. It ruled that states could not ban abortion before fetal viability (around 24 weeks), setting a legal precedent for nearly five decades. Roe protected the right to abortion, but still it left work to be done to grant women full autonomy over their bodies. 

In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned its decision, leaving abortion laws to individual states. Since then, reproductive rights have deteriorated. Since the reversal, states are moving in sharply different directions—some rapidly enacting bans while others work to protect access. The ripple effects raise questions about how this will impact women, particularly those without the resources or ability to seek care in other states.

Just last week, the story of Amber Nicole Thurman came out. Amber was a 28-year-old mother who died because of a Georgia abortion ban. She became the first known woman to die a preventable death related to an abortion ban, since Roe was overturned. After taking the abortion pill, she experienced a rare complication where not all of the pregnancy tissue left her uterus. 

Amber arrived at the hospital with signs of an infection. She would normally have been treated with a D&C, a 15-20 minute procedure that empties out the uterus and is routinely used for abortion and miscarriage. She almost certainly would have been fine if they would have treated her. But doctors had their hands tied. Georgia had implemented an abortion ban that prevented a D&C unless used for a “naturally occuring” miscarriage. Since Amber had taken an abortion pill, she did not fit this protocol. She suffered, laying in a hospital bed, and in the span of a day developed sepsis, organ failure, and eventually died. She was just feet away from doctors who could have helped her. This is the cruel reality of post-Roe abortion bans. Women are dying and will continue to die without proper healthcare, including abortion procedures. 

Kate Cox, a Dallas mother suing Texas for their (intentionally) confusing laws, is yet another example of a woman experiencing the difficulties of a state abortion law. Kate and her husband were thrilled to get pregnant with their third child, and then very quickly heartbroken to find out that the baby would not survive outside of the womb. Kate’s doctor told her she needed an abortion for the sake of her health. But this doctor could not give Kate the abortion she so needed because of the Texas abortion bans. 

In Texas, there are criminal penalties for doctors who continue to perform abortions, ranging from a ten thousand dollar fine to life in prison. Texas’s medical exceptions for abortion state that abortion is only permitted if the pregnancy poses a significant risk to the life of the mother or could cause substantial impairment to a major bodily function. Exceptions that are so vaguely defined leave doctors hesitant to provide an abortion, even when it’s needed, out of fear of these serious legal repercussions.

Twenty other women and two doctors are separately suing the state of Texas for its strict abortion law and lack of clarity for medical emergency exceptions. It is clear this is a serious issue that will continue to threaten the lives of women, if abortion bans throughout the US remain in place. 

The conversation about what is happening post-Roe is more important than ever, as pregnant women are also less and less able to access maternity care. This is due to a mass exodus of OBGYNs in states with strict abortion laws. Similarly to Texas, states like Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Louisiana have laws that penalize doctors for performing abortions. 

Not at all coincidentally, several of these states are host to the highest percentage of maternity care deserts. Maternity care deserts are areas where pregnant women are unable to get care, and sometimes have to travel hours for an OBGYN. Doctors do not want to be stuck providing care in states where they may be forced to choose between letting someone die or facing legal implications for providing necessary medical care. These are also states with the highest maternal and infant mortality rates. 

Abortion access and maternal care are not the only things at risk. Birth control, the morning-after pill, IVF, sex education, maternity leave, and far more are on the ballot this election. 

28% of the women surveyed by Nurx do not believe that their right to contraception is secure, and it’s not. In June of this year, The Right to Contraception Act was blocked by Senate Republicans for the third time in 3 years. The bill needed 60 votes to pass, and failed in a vote of 51-39. Republican Senators introduced their own bill instead, “Allowing Greater Access to Safe and Effective Contraception Act,”  it does not protect access to IUDs or the morning-after pill. 

Politicians like Texas Senator, Ted Cruz, have claimed that birth control is “abortion-inducing.” Contraception does not end a pregnancy, but prevents pregnancy before it starts. Senator Cruz seems to be suffering from the same confusion and misinformation as much of our country. 73% of women believe that the abortion pill and the morning-after pill are the same thing (they are not). 

The lack of knowledge around emergency contraception creates chaos for women who are trying to figure out which option they might need. Birth control is not solely used to prevent pregnancy. Oral contraceptives can also be used to treat other health challenges unique to women - such as endometriosis-related pain, fibroids, irregular periods, and more. When ten months of accutane only proved to inflame my acne more, my gynecologist switched my birth control. Quickly, the year-long flare across my face subsided. Birth control is the single most important factor in garnering women financial independence and a role in public life. Birth control is essential healthcare. 

Of the 66 million women of reproductive age living in the US, more than 19 million women of reproductive age living in the US are in need of publicly funded contraception and live in contraceptive deserts. States like Florida are heavily restricting sex education, and banning any talk of puberty until long after children have begun to go through it. This is a healthcare crisis.

So what can we do? Vote in this election. 10 states have abortion directly on their ballots this November. Your vote can protect this right. But as we mentioned, birth control, the morning-after pill, IVF, sex education, maternity leave, and more are also on the ballot. Head to vote.org to check your voter registration and register to vote.