Two years ago, the Supreme Court of the United States of America (USA) abolished the ruling Roe v. Wade, that is, the federal protection of the right to abortion and gave the states the right to decide on this policy.
In the case of Dobbs v. Jackson, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court issued a decision that sparked protests, new laws and numerous lawsuits, and put the issue of abortion at the center of American politics.
Abortion is now banned at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions, in 14 Republican states. In three states it is banned after the sixth week of pregnancy, when many women do not even know they are pregnant. Democratic-led states, on the other hand, are taking steps to protect women's abortion rights.
However, the Supreme Court's decision did not affect the total number of abortions performed across the US.
Limited access to abortion means traveling to other countries
Abortion bans in Republican states have forced women to travel to other states to terminate pregnancies.
All this means spending more money on fuel, plane tickets, accommodation and food, logistics are more complicated, you need to organize childcare, and take days off from work.
A new study by the Guttmacher Institute, which advocates the preservation of abortion rights, showed that out of a total of one million abortions, more than 161.000 were performed in clinics in another country.
More than two-thirds of abortions in Kansas or New Mexico were performed by women from other states, especially Texas.
Since Florida's ban on abortion after the sixth week went into effect in May, many women have been traveling to other states to have the procedure.
Patients with lower incomes and those who need permission to leave the country are in a more difficult situation.
In Alabama, the Yellowhammer Fund, which used to help women get out of the country if they needed an abortion, has stopped doing so as it faces multiple lawsuits from the state.
Janice Fountain, the organization's director, says she recently spoke with a woman from Alabama who had to go to Georgia to terminate her pregnancy, but that was not possible because, according to that state's laws, her pregnancy was too far along.
Then she went to Virginia and the whole trip cost too much - so much so that she couldn't pay the rent and was looking for help with housing.
Abortion pills are more commonly used
Almost two-thirds of abortions last year in America were performed with the pill.
One report says the pill is prescribed to about 6.000 women a month who live in states with abortion bans. They are mailed by doctors from states where the procedures are allowed, and they cannot be sued for prescribing the pill to women in other states. Laws in Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Washington protect doctors who prescribe the pills.
The increasing use of the pill, which has been used in almost half of pregnancy terminations since the Supreme Court decision, has been at the center of the legal battle.
However, the Supreme Court recently rejected a request by abortion opponents to withdraw the license to use the pill mifepristone - one of two used to terminate pregnancy.
Abortion in the 2024 elections.
Ahead of the presidential election in November, abortion is one of the key issues.
Protecting this right is central to the campaign of Democrats and President Biden. His opponent, Donald Trump, said that the states themselves should decide on restrictions on abortion and restrictions on contraception, but he later changed his position on this.
"We recognize that this may be the last anniversary of a Supreme Court decision that we celebrate," said Kelsey Pritchard, a spokeswoman for the Pro-Life America Foundation, alluding to the possibility of Democrats winning the presidency and both houses of Congress and passing abortion rights legislation.
The issue will go before voters in at least four states: Florida, Colorado, Maryland and South Dakota, where voters will decide on access to abortion.
There are also plans to put the same question on the ballot in Arkansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada.
Generally, abortion rights are liberalized when voters decide to do so. In the seven states where abortion rights were voted on, voters always chose to expand that right.
Everything is still in the courts - including the Supreme Court
The 2022 Supreme Court ruling triggered numerous lawsuits and lawsuits, especially where abortion was banned.
Many questions deal with exceptions and how to apply them, and such situations come into focus in cases of pregnant women who want children, but also have potentially life-threatening pregnancy complications.
A group of women who were in that situation sued the state of Texas, because it forbade them to have an abortion, and pointed out that the exceptions were not precisely defined. The Republican Supreme Court in that state did not agree with their position.
In April, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in the federal government's lawsuit against the state of Idaho, which wants to ban abortion even in cases where a woman's health is at risk. A verdict in that case is expected at any moment.
Pending the court proceedings, the bans have been lifted in Iowa, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.
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