In Light ofDobbs– Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice
Just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision inDobbs v. Jackson, we are seeing and feeling the devastating consequences of a 40-year battle to limit reproductive freedom. As of August 1,abortion is completely or effectively banned in 12 states, with more bans expected in the coming weeks.
In some states, the fight for abortion access has shifted to the courtroom. As of the time of writing, bans and restrictions have been blocked, at least temporarily, inArizona, Louisiana, Kentucky,Minnesota, North Dakota,Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. A Georgia law banning most abortions and granting “personhood” to embryos and fetuses went into effect this month. SisterSong and other reproductive justice organizations are currentlychallenging it in courts. In other states, the right to abortion ison the ballot. California, Vermont, andlikely Michiganwill have ballot measures to establish a state constitutional right to abortion in their upcoming elections. On the other hand, voters in Kansas and Kentucky will face anti-abortion ballot measures to deny that any such right exists in their state constitutions.
The Biden Administration has taken steps to protect abortion access, but abortion rights supporters have criticized the White House and some Democrat lawmakers for being too slow to act. Steps taken by the administration include 1)pledging to protectthe right to travel between states to seek medical care and access to medication abortion, and contraception, 2) releasing guidance reminding doctors that they’reprotected by federal lawif they terminate a pregnancy as part of emergency treatment, and 3)attempting to strengthen the Affordable CareAct by prohibiting health care providers, including telemedicine providers, from denying care based on a person’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy status or need for abortion. On July 8, Biden signed an executive orderprotecting access to reproductive healthcare services, but its reach waslimited. More administrative and Congressional action is needed to protect and expand abortion access!
This was the first full term with the Supreme Court’s newradically conservativemajority. SCOTUS decisionsthis term,Dobbsincluded, clearly signal that the right to abortion is not the only fundamental human right on the chopping block. In a chillingDobbsconcurrence, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas warned that othersubstantive due processrights, such as birth control, same-sex marriage, and same-sex sexual intimacy, could be the next to fall. And anti-LGBTQ actors were paying attention.
The lawyer who pioneered and co-authored Texas’ extraordinarily cruel abortion ban,S.B. 8, is now coming for PrEP. Last year, PrEP was added to a list of preventative services insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) must cover at zero cost. The Texas lawyer argues that requiring PrEP coverage violates theReligious Freedom Restoration Act, citing that PrEP “encourages and facilitates homosexual behavior, drug use, [and] sexual activity outside of marriage.” The judge presiding over the case previously ruled the ACA was unconstitutional (but the U.S. Supreme Court voted to uphold it). The current climate of the U.S. Supreme Court and their recent decisions in favor of religious arguments makes this case exceptionally worrisome. We will be watching it closely and will keep you updated!
Congress is trying to safeguard fundamental rights. In the last two weeks, the U.S. House of Representatives passed bills to protectabortion access,contraceptives, andsame sex marriage. Unfortunately, these bills are unlikely to pass the Senate because of thefilibuster– a mechanism that allows one Senator to object to a bill, and then the bill needs 60 votes to pass instead of the simple majority vote of 51 – a much higher, and often insurmountable hurdle. (You can sign a petition to abolish the filibuster,here.) In light of theDobbsdecision and the imminent danger it presents to same-sex marriage, here are somesteps LGBTQ Americans can takenow to help secure protections for their relationships and families preemptively ahead of any court rollback in LGBTQ rights.
Healthcare Access
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation has announced more than $5 million in funding to support53 community-based organizationsin expanding their HIV self-testing programs.
A new bill in the U.S. Senate would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies to curb the rising cost of drugs, one step inreviving President Biden’s economic agenda.
Criminalization and Policing
The Safer Streets for All Act, which eliminates a provision of Californialaw that prohibited “loitering in a public place”for sex work, has been signed by California’s governor. Any person who has been convicted under the previous law will be able to petition for dismissal and sealing of their case.
In Arizona, a new law has been passed that makes itillegal for people to record the policeif they are within 8 feet, an apparent violation of the First Amendment right to photograph and record police officers in public places. (Know your rights when filming the police,here!)
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbottorderedstate police to return migrants and asylum seekers to the Mexican border. RAICES (a non-profit that provides legal and social for immigrants with low incomes)calledAbbott’s move an “overreach of power” and a “disgusting political stunt to dehumanize immigrants and stoke anti-immigrant fear and hate to score political points.”
The Supreme Court ruled inCarson v. Makinthat taxpayer dollarsmustgo to private religious schools if the state also funds private non-religious schools. Some religious schools (including the two Maine schools at question inCarson) have a history of anti-LGBTQ policies, such as discriminatory hiring practices or refusing to admit gay and transgender children. The Maine attorney general said the ruling wouldn’t impact their state because of a non-discrimination policy that blocks schools that would harm, endanger, or discriminate against LGBTQ students from getting public funds.
The Leon County School Board (also in Florida)approveda bogus new policy that requires schools to informother students and their parentsif they share a physical education class, athletic team, or overnight trip with a trans student, essentially forcing teachers to out their transgender students.
Another Florida school board almost banned two “Comprehensive Health Skills” books because they include topics like contraceptives and abortion. The Miami Dade County School Board did, in the end, vote to allow the books in local schools.
Alabama isarguingthat an appeals court should reinstate its felony ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender youth (which is currently blocked by a federal judge) by borrowing language from the Supreme Court’s decision inDobbs.
Economic Justice
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has unveileda package of resources to address homelessness. The package provides $322 million to expand access to health care, support services, and permanent housing for unhoused people.
California’s CARE Court proposal, orSB 1338, passed the state Senate. The bill would establish a special court (CARE court) for people with untreated mental health and substance use disorders. In theory, this system would help folks at risk of homelessness craft care plans, secure stable housing, and prevent arrests.Civil and human rights advocatesstrongly oppose the bill, warning that it is misleading and would amount to coerced, court-ordered treatment. It would also perpetuate institutional racism, disproportionately putting Black and Brown people under state control without addressing the issue of homelessness. According toHuman Rights Watch, the bill “seems aimed at facilitating removing unhoused people from public view without actually providing housing and services that will help to resolve homelessness.”
In New York, non-citizens living in New York City willno longer be allowed to votein local elections after a judge blocked the proposed measure in January.