The end of Roe?

Must fight for reproductive freedom

After the leaked Roe v. Wade opinion, we anticipate the Supreme Court’s final ruling this month or at the start of July. If the Supreme Court rules to overturn Roe, Arkansas is one of 13 states with a “trigger ban” law in place, leading to an immediate ban of abortion. This would have detrimental impacts on our Arkansas communities, particularly on women of color, who already shoulder the brunt of inaccessibility.

Politicians should stop interfering with personal health decisions, because forcing people to carry pregnancies to term against their will is dangerous, and abortion health care should be accessible to all.

It’s depressing that Arkansas lawmakers facilitated barriers effectively operating to deny many Arkansans health care; many Arkansans have never been guaranteed access to abortion.

In 2019, Arkansas lawmakers passed the “trigger ban” that would ban abortion as soon as the Arkansas attorney general were to certify that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe. Last year, Arkansas lawmakers passed the highest number of abortion restrictions of any state in a single year since 1978. One would be a total ban on abortion, and we successfully blocked the ban, resulting in abortion remaining legal.

And although abortion is legal in Arkansas, there are hoops a pregnant person has to jump through when seeking abortion: They must first attend an appointment where they receive state-mandated information and then have to wait at least three days before they can return to get their abortion. For some, they must plan on two trips before they can get their abortion. For minors, parental consent is required, and if they cannot get the consent, they must request a court order.

Attending these appointments — and going to court, if needed — requires patients to take time off from work and school and arrange and pay for transportation and child care. They also might have to travel far distances across the state, since there are only two abortion clinics left in the state.

If the leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court is ultimately released as the final ruling, this will make abortion that much more inaccessible for even more Arkansans. What will this mean for patients who are unable to travel to obtain care? The state would be mandating that they risk their lives and health to carry an undesired pregnancy. What will this mean for our health-care system that is already failing some pregnant patients who have a significantly increased risk of death from pregnancy?

The burdens fall most heavily upon people of color, immigrants, people who live in rural areas, young people, and people with low incomes. Findings show Black women disproportionately suffer from the severe maternal mortality crisis that currently impacts all demographics of pregnant people. Black women are over two times more likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth than white women. Adequate health care should not depend on someone’s race, socioeconomic status, or geographical location. Access to adequate health care should be available to everyone regardless of these factors.

Instead of restrictions and bans, we need adequate health care for pregnant women, trans men, and nonbinary folks, including for complications in pregnancy, safeguarding the well-being of those who suffer rape and incest, and being gentle and kind to those needing to make sometimes difficult decisions about their health and bodies.

We need to unite to tell our elected officials we will not stand for our hard-earned taxpayer dollars to be used to remove our rights from us regarding our bodies, families, and livelihoods. Donate to the Arkansas Abortion Support Network, vote, and consider running for office. With Roe on the line, our fight for health care and reproductive freedom is more important than ever.

Holly Dickson, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas executive director, and Lori Williams, clinical director of Little Rock Family Planning Services, are both members of the Arkansas Coalition for Reproductive Justice.