Post- Dobbs Abortion Restrictions and the Families They Leave Behind

Abstract

The June 24, 2022 US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization resulted in an expansive restriction on abortion access that had been constitutionally guaranteed for nearly half a century. Currently, 14 states have implemented complete bans on abortion with very limited exceptions, and an additional 7 states have implemented abortion bans at 6 to 18 weeks' gestation. It has been well demonstrated that restrictive policies disproportionately limit abortion access for minoritized people and people of low socioeconomic status; the financial and geographic barriers of these post-Dobbs restrictions will only exacerbate this disparity. Proponents of abortion restrictions, who identify as pro-life, assert that these policies are essential to protect children, women, and families. We examine whether the protection of these groups extends past conception by evaluating the association between state abortion legislation and state-based policies and programs designed to provide medical and social support for children, women, and families. We found that states with the most restrictive post-Dobbs abortion policies in fact have the least comprehensive and inclusive public infrastructure to support these groups. We suggest further opportunities for advocacy. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(10):1043-1050. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307792).

FIGURE 1—

Map of the United States Showing 3 Severity Levels of Post-Dobbs Abortion Restrictions as of April 2024 Note. Colorado and Washington, DC, are included in the “moderately restrictive” group because despite being highly protective with no gestational age limit on abortion, they ban use of Medicaid funds to pay for abortion. The most restrictive states have complete abortion bans with the following exceptions: Florida (6-wk ban), Georgia (6-wk ban), South Carolina (6-wk ban), Nebraska (12-wk ban), North Carolina (12-wk ban), Arizona (15-wk ban), Utah (18-wk ban). Source. Mapping created by Kelsey Rydland, Data Services Librarian at Northwestern University Libraries. Data citations are provided in the Appendix (available as a supplement to the online version of this article at http://www.ajph.org).