On the heels of their victory in the November midterm elections, conservative legislators are pressing forward with their campaign to severely limit abortion rights. Several lawmakers are working on, or have already introduced, bills that attack women’s reproductive autonomy, including banning most abortions at 20 weeks after conception, forcing women considering abortions to view a live ultrasound of the fetus, and preventing insurance coverage of abortions.
In both Florida and Kansas, where previous governors vetoed anti-abortion measures, legislators are reintroducing bills to their newly instated, anti-choice governors. “I call on the Legislature to bring to my desk legislation that protects the unborn, establishing a culture of life in Kansas,” said Gov. Sam Brownback in his first State of the State message. There are now 29 governors considered to be strongly anti-abortion, compared with 21 last year. Similarly, in 15 states, compared with 10 last year, both the legislature and the governor are anti-abortion, including larger states like Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Georgia and Oklahoma.
Pro-choice advocates are taking notice of these measures, and have called this “the best climate for passing pro-life laws in years." Ted Miller, a spokesman for NARAL Pro-Choice America, called the new anti-choice governors worrisome, because they “have been the firewall, they’ve vetoed a lot of bad anti-choice legislation."
These measures are just stepping stones on the path to achieving anti-choice advocates’ final goal – banning abortion completely. We must understand that any attempt to make abortion less accessible to women is an attempt to eradicate the right to choose completely. Reproductive autonomy is a fundamental human right. The welfare of all women and children is based on the ability of women to access safe, quality health care, including reproductive health care services. As with other attacks on access to healthcare, prohibiting women’s access to abortions disproportionately affects low-income women. If not challenged, these bills will have real life consequences for countless women. We must stand together to fight against the passage of these bills, along with all future attacks on our constitutional right to reproductive freedom.
- Learn more about Legal Momentum's history of work on Reproductive Justice and Sexuality and Family Rights.
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