USA – ‘I see a danger in returning to a pre-Roe world:’ Abortion advocates view coronavirus-era restrictions as a dark sign of what could come

'I see a danger in returning to a pre-Roe world:' Abortion advocates view coronavirus-era restrictions as a dark sign of what could come

Kayla Epstein
May 15, 2020

In non-pandemic times, obtaining an abortion already presented serious legal and logistical challenges for millions of women. For patients who live in certain states, getting care means enduring state-imposed waiting periods, submitting to unnecessary ultrasounds, or rushing to receive care before an arbitrary legal deadline. For patients who already have children, care must be arranged. Those without a car need a ride, especially if the nearest clinic is hours away. Some need flights to more accommodating states. And many, many need funds.

But women seeking abortions since the coronavirus outbreak began faced a new challenge — states' attempts to temporarily limit or ban abortion outright by deeming them "non-essential" procedures, under the pretext of preserving medical supplies for COVID-19 treatment. These restrictions collided with the travel and social distancing restrictions put in place to limit the spread of the virus, leading to an even more precarious situation for abortion care than the one already in place.

Continued: https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-arkansas-abortion-bans-coronavirus-advocates-fear-lack-of-access-2020-5

15.05.2020

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abortion access during pandemic

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abortion is essential healthcare

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American Civil Liberties Union

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anti-choice restrictions

Bridget Schilling

Brigid Alliance

Clinical Access Support Network

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Odile Schalit

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pre-Roe laws

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Very Rev. Katherine Ragsdale

USA – COVID-19 Abortion Bans Could Have Alarming Effects Far Beyond This Crisis

COVID-19 Abortion Bans Could Have Alarming Effects Far Beyond This Crisis | Opinion

Rachel Rebouché and Mary Ziegler
On 5/13/20

The right to an abortion may be enshrined in Roe v. Wade, but it is never safe. A new attack is underway, even as tens of thousands of Americans die and tens of millions file for unemployment.

A month into the COVID-19 pandemic, 11 states began to effectively ban abortions by categorizing them as "nonessential" medical procedures. These states argue they have to stop abortions to conserve hospital beds and personal protective equipment, such as surgical masks.

Continued: https://www.newsweek.com/covid-19-abortion-bans-could-have-alarming-effects-far-beyond-this-crisis-opinion-1503511

Australia – Getting an abortion just got harder, thanks to the coronavirus. Here’s what we can do better

Getting an abortion just got harder, thanks to the coronavirus. Here’s what we can do better

May 11, 2020
Erica Millar, Lecturer, La Trobe University

The COVID-19 crisis has starkly revealed the patchy and precarious provision of abortion in Australia, deepening existing inequalities in access.

What was already an expensive procedure may be even less attainable for many women facing financial strain during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, a shortage of staff and resources is likely to be affecting access for many women seeking an abortion – particularly those in regional and rural areas.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/getting-an-abortion-just-got-harder-thanks-to-the-coronavirus-heres-what-we-can-do-better-138110

11.05.2020

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USA – Abortion Bans Are Bad Medicine—Especially During a Pandemic

Abortion Bans Are Bad Medicine—Especially During a Pandemic

5/9/2020
by Aliza Norwood, MD and Anu Kapadia

As doctors on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are putting our lives on the line to to care for our patients. Yet while our patients and colleagues suffer, governors across the nation are using the pandemic as a political tool to ban abortions. Rather than listen to the very doctors they say they are protecting, these lawmakers are defying medical evidence and expert recommendation.

In our home state of Texas, Governor Abbott’s coronavirus-related executive order on March 22 to delay all “non-essential” surgeries and procedures was interpreted by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to include nearly all abortions. A dizzying back-and-forth battle between the AG and pro-choice groups went all the way to the Supreme Court before the state blinked and announced the ban was “over” on April 22.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2020/05/09/abortion-bans-are-bad-medicine-especially-during-a-pandemic/

Abortion during the Covid-19 Pandemic — Ensuring Access to an Essential Health Service

Abortion during the Covid-19 Pandemic — Ensuring Access to an Essential Health Service
Perspective

Michelle J. Bayefsky, B.A., Deborah Bartz, M.D., M.P.H., and Katie L. Watson, J.D.
May 7, 2020
N Engl J Med 2020; 382:e47
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2008006

Each year, nearly 1 million women choose to end a pregnancy in the United States, and about one quarter of American women will use abortion services by 45 years of age. Women’s ability to determine whether and when they have a child has profound consequences for their self-determination and for the economic, social, and political equality of women as a group. Because access to safe abortion care is time-sensitive and vitally important, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and other reproductive health professional organizations issued an unequivocal statement on March 18, 2020, that they “do not support Covid-19 responses that cancel or delay abortion procedures.”

Continued: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2008006

COVID-19 Should Not Be Used as an Excuse to Implement Abortion Bans

COVID-19 Should Not Be Used as an Excuse to Implement Abortion Bans

April 30, 2020
by Surya Swaroop

As the United States is struggling to adapt to the unprecedented influx of patients with symptoms of COVID-19, there is a strong concern that the number of medical supplies available will not be able to keep up with the demand. While this is a pressing matter that the federal government needs to address, some Republican politicians are using this issue to further their political agendas. They have deemed abortions a nonessential medical service, citing the need to conserve medical supplies as the reason abortions should be banned during this time.

The logic of this argument is flawed on every level and indicates how little these politicians regard women’s reproductive health issues.

Continued: http://dailynexus.com/2020-04-30/covid-19-should-not-be-used-as-an-excuse-to-implement-abortion-bans/

The fight over Texas’ abortion ban during the COVID-19 pandemic is over, but what did it all mean?

The fight over Texas’ abortion ban during the COVID-19 pandemic is over, but what did it all mean?
Abortion rights advocates are rushing to help women as another federal legal fight looms over them.

By María Méndez
Apr 28, 2020

AUSTIN -- A lawsuit over whether Texas can halt abortions under coronavirus executive orders ping-ponged back and forth between federal courts, resulting in periods of little to no access, over the last month.

The heated legal fight, which at one point appeared to be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, dwindled last week under a new gubernatorial order that eased restrictions on elective medical procedures, allowing abortions to resume.

Continued: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/public-health/2020/04/28/the-fight-over-texas-abortion-ban-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-is-over-but-what-did-it-all-mean/

‘It Wears on Your Soul’: COVID Has Created an Abortion Nightmare in Texas

'It Wears on Your Soul': COVID Has Created an Abortion Nightmare in Texas
In recent weeks, providers have been forced to cancel hundreds of abortion appointments, then call patients back in, only to send them home once more. Abortion funds are helping manage the fallout.

by Mary Tuma
Apr 27 2020

When Texas officials effectively banned abortion in the state in late March, Kamyon Conner and her staff rushed to figure out how to compassionately tell clients that they could no longer access care. Conner doesn’t run an abortion clinic, she’s the executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund, an abortion fund that provides financial assistance to women in north, east, and west Texas. Their hotline was already busier than normal even before Texas used the coronavirus pandemic to restrict access to abortion.

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/g5x4n3/texas-abortion-funds-workers-are-managing-the-fallout-of-state-abortion-ban-during-coronavirus-covid19-pandemic

State Action to Limit Abortion Access During the COVID-19 Pandemic

State Action to Limit Abortion Access During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Laurie Sobel, Amrutha Ramaswamy, Brittni Frederiksen, and Alina Salganicoff
Published: Apr 24, 2020

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted several states to place restrictions that have effectively banned or blocked the availability of abortion services. While every state has taken action to declare a public health emergency to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, several states have made public health emergency declarations to specifically define abortion as non-essential or elective health procedures and banned abortions until the end of the emergency. States have justified these orders to conserve personal protective equipment (PPE). However, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and other leading medical professional organizations issued a statement defining abortion as a time sensitive and “essential component of comprehensive health care” and that delay, even days, “may increase the risks or potentially make it completely inaccessible.” The World Health Organization also classifies abortion “essential” to women’s rights and health.

Continued: https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/state-action-to-limit-abortion-access-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/

USA – When Will These Attacks on Abortion Rights End? You Won’t Like the Answer.

When Will These Attacks on Abortion Rights End? You Won’t Like the Answer.
Legal precedent means very little to judges and justices personally opposed to abortion rights, as we've seen during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Apr 22, 2020
Jessica Mason Pieklo

It seems each day brings new developments on abortion rights in the time of COVID-19. It’s maddening and has left me with one lingering question: Will this shit ever end?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit once again put a halt on nearly all abortions in Texas, issuing a ruling Monday allowing the state to enforce Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) COVID-19 ban.

Continued: https://rewire.news/article/2020/04/22/when-will-these-attacks-on-abortion-rights-end-you-wont-like-the-answer/