States also decide on medication for abortion
The Supreme Court’s ruling also lets every state decide on the access the residents have to medication abortion, which might involve taking two pills to end the pregnancy: mifepristone and misoprostol.
Medication abortion is now approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use up to 70 days, or 10 weeks after the conception.
As FDA approves the used medication to be received by mail, women have to obtain it by having a certified health care provider and the FDA’s decision is subject to state laws that might now decide to criminalize the practice.
There are a minimum of 12 state legislatures that have now slipped bans and restrictions on medication abortion so far in 2022, such as prohibiting the mailing of abortion pills and banning the use of telehealth, as a Guttmacher Institute declared.
Before the overturn of Roe, telemedicine for medication abortion had been banned already in 19 states. It required a provider to be physically there when administering the pill, according to the Guttmacher Insitute.
Contraceptives might also suffer from the impact
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was the one to open the door to changing the right to contraceptives in his opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Thomas asked for several rulings to be reconsidered, such as Griswold v. Connecticut, which established the right of married couples to use contraception.
“As any substantive due process decision can be “demonstrably erroneous,” we have this duty to “correct the error” that was established in those precedents. After overruling these erroneous decisions, the question still remains whether other constitutional provisions can guarantee the myriad rights that our substantive due process cases might have generated.”
Congress has limited capacity to act for the moment
Congress has the power to codify the rights previously enshrined in Roe v. Wade.
However, the Democratic-majority House and Senate don’t have the votes.
The effort would have to clear the Senate filibuster, and the 60 votes required are not reachable at all for abortion rights supporters.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared that she is now focusing on the midterm elections. “It is very clear that the path forward will solely depend on the outcome of the upcoming midterm elections,” Pelosi added in a statement made on Friday.
“We have to “Remember in November” that the rights of women, and of all Americans, are on the ballot.”
President Joe Biden remarked at the White House that he is not able to enshrine abortion rights at the federal level, and asked Congress to do so. He also encouraged people to vote if they want something to change the abortion rights.
“This decision shouldn’t be the final word. Roe is on the ballot. With your vote, you have the power to act. You are the one that can have the final word” he said.
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