Recent changes to the United States’ federal control over the right to an abortion has created confusion and controversy throughout the country. Most surprisingly, recent studies have found that the number of birth control and emergency contraception prescriptions have dropped in states that have begun carrying out stricter abortion guidelines. According to NPR, states with strict bans and harsh penalties, Including Alabama, have seen a sharp decline in birth control prescriptions and emergency contraceptives. For reference, the rates of birth control fillings declined by a third while prescription fills for emergency contraceptives went down nearly half compared to rates prior to the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
Background:
- Roe v. Wade: The 1973 Supreme Court case that established a federal protection for legal abortions in the United States that was controversially reversed in 2022.
- Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: The 2022 Supreme Court decision that undid the legal precedent of Roe v. Wade by deciding that the Constitution does not explicitly protect the right to an abortion.
The Dobbs’ decision is noted as a “devastating blow” for the constitutional right to choose pregnancy termination. Many consider it to be the first time that the Supreme Court has taken away a fundamental liberty.
After seeing these trends, researchers decided to find out why this phenomenon was occurring. The most notable factor is that places that helped people access these resources were closed due to the bans. These were clinics that offered family planning and reproductive health, so their removal greatly impacted resource availability and access. Reproductive freedom advocates report issues connecting people with reliable information as the laws are changing almost weekly after the recent court rulings. It is also negatively affecting people who wish to carry their pregnancies to term by degrading reproductive healthcare, miscarriage management, and regard for pregnancy complications.
For example, a major impact on these medications’ use is the misinformation that they are now illegal.
In response to changing laws and potential confusion, the Food and Drug Administration made a point to update product labeling to clarify that these medications do not affect fertilization, implantation, or terminate pregnancy. It is especially important to stress that Plan B prevents pregnancy, it does not terminate a pregnancy.
Although things are rapidly changing, here are a few Alabama laws to consider:
- Alabama has a total abortion ban that prohibits the procedure at all stages of pregnancy except in extreme circumstances (to save the pregnant person’s life, to prevent serious risk to the pregnant person’s physical health, if the fetus is not expected to survive the pregnancy).
- Alabama prohibits the public funding or private insurance coverage of abortion.
- Providers who violate Alabama’s abortion restrictions may face civil and criminal penalties.
- Birth control, Plan B and other morning after pills are still legally available in Alabama.
Although abortion is now outlawed in Alabama, birth control and emergency contraceptives are still legal. If you are in need of family planning resources and/or uterus centered health care, check out the resources below.
- noisefornow.org
- plannedparenthood.org
- alabamapublichealth.gov
Citations:
- https://www.npr.org/2024/06/26/nx-s1-5020324/birth-control-prescriptions-are-down-in-states-with-abortion-bans?trk=feed_main-feed-card_feed-article-content
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9673802/
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2820370
- https://supreme.findlaw.com/supreme-court-insights/roe-v–wade-case-summary–what-you-need-to-know.html
- https://reproductiverights.org/maps/state/alabama/
Featured Image by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-person-holding-a-birth-control-pills-6471430/