2022 decimated abortion rights: The path forward for 2023

Without a doubt, 2022 will be remembered as the worst of times for abortion rights in the U.S. Now as we round the corner to 2023, there is a silver lining, and steps each of us can take to restore and expand reproductive freedom for all.

First, let’s assess the damage.

In June, the Supreme Court decimated nearly 50 years of established abortion law and handed abortion rights over to the states, unleashing legal chaos. Thanks to “trigger” laws springing into effect, Civil War era bans being resurrected and an overall legal uncertainty that combined with high criminal penalties, many clinics ceased abortion services or closed entirely. Less than a month after Dobbs, abortion had come to a near-halt in at least seven states, while six-week bans started up in another six states and more restrictions were pending in eight other states.

Emboldened by the Supreme Court, abortion foes seized the moment to propose new anti-abortion laws in red states. Attorneys from the Center for Reproductive Rights, ACLU and others launched legal challenges in at least nine states seeking shelter for abortion rights in state constitutions. Meanwhile, thousands of women and teens were being denied abortion access each month, sometimes at great risk to their health and lives. 

As 2022 ends, a Guttmacher Institute map of the state of abortion shows a generally even split between those states that have entirely banned or restricted abortion, and those that protect abortion rights to a middling or full-Roe extent. Compounding the difficulty in accessing abortion, however, is the fact that states with near-total bans are clustered together in a giant splotch that runs from West Virginia all the way through Texas. Abortion-protective states mostly line the West Coast or huddle together in the northeast. In this new landscape, your abortion rights are defined by your zip code and your access to funds, transportation, time off from work or school and whether you can surmount the structural racism of our health care system.

However, 2022 also demonstrated that abortion rights are popular, and political progress is possible. Several states — Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York — passed legislation to protect abortion rights in advance of or reacting to Roe’s demise. These states and a handful of cities opened their doors to help abortion refugees traveling from other states and allocated funds to make the trip less grueling. Voters in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont responded to 2022’s abortion referendums with a resounding cry of “more rights please.” President Biden declared that for the midterms “Roe is on the ballot” — and the post-election message was uplifting as voters nationwide elected those who supported abortion rights.

Now let’s make sure now to hold these newly-elected feet to the abortion-rights fire when the 2023 legislative sessions begin. 

In Nebraska, the state’s unique legislative structure means that just three Democratic legislators can use their filibuster power to make sure abortion remains legal in this key state. In New York, a group of dedicated clinicians are asking legislators for a shield law to help protect them from prosecution when they provide abortion pills via telemedicine across state lines. We must continue to engage politically because post-election apathy is our enemy. Get or stay politically involved by joining Arena’s Academy, which trains aspiring campaign staff members, or by supporting Run for Something’s work to boost young progressives running for office. 

Outside the political arena, there is much everyone can do to advance our human rights. Decades ago, women of color launched the reproductive justice movement to highlight that the decision whether or not to become a parent is a core part of dignity, humanity and freedom. After Dobbs shuttered Mississippi’s last remaining abortion clinic, SHERo’s abortion “freedom fighters” have been working double-time to ensure that everyone in the state can afford and obtain the abortion care they need. 

For those who want or are forced to travel for abortion services, Brigid Alliance provides essentials like transportation, food, accommodations and child care (more than half of women seeking abortions are already parents). WRRAP works with 700 clinics to provide no-cost abortions nationwide — and has seven different ways for volunteers to help out from hotline work to hosting events.  

This holiday season, watch a film about the Jane Collective, a group of Chicago feminists who provided safe abortion services in the years before Roe. Thanks to advances in technology and medication abortion, we can all be Janes — and at much less risk than our foremothers took. Medication abortion is now a safe and widely available method to do your own abortion. The non-profit Plan C is the go-to resource online for reliable, up-to-date information on how people in the U.S. are accessing at-home abortion pill options. 

Abortion access is a human right. And that message has successfully energized global movements. It helped decriminalize abortion in Ireland back in 2018. In 2021, human rights framing invigorated the Green Wave and delivered legalized abortion in Argentina and Mexico while Colombia followed in 2022. The wave of human rights demands, complete with signature green bandanas is working its way North, inspiring U.S. activists to assert the human right to abortion for all. 

Whether by marching in the streets to demand our human rights, sending funds, donating our time, getting engaged politically or channeling our inner Jane to help women seeking abortion access, everyone has a role to play in 2023. The first step may be simply to use your voice to speak with people in your own office, school, church or family about why abortion matters to you. Time to get our brave on.  

 Julie F. Kay is a human rights lawyer who successfully argued against Ireland’s ban on abortion before the European Court of Human Rights and the co-author of “Controlling Women: What We Must Do Now to Save Reproductive Freedom.”