On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court handed down Dobbs v. Jackson that confirmed the draft opinion leaked in May. All but one Republican justice overturned Roe v. Wade which established the Constitutional right to abortion. Although the main opinion distinguished between abortion and other rights based on the Constitutional right to privacy (contraception and same-sex relations and marriage), Justice Thomas went further and suggested all these rights could be reconsidered [1]. It would be wrong to blindly trust the majortiy opinion due to the Supreme Court's record of going back on its promises on issues like gun rights [2]. Dobbs' justification was that the right to abortion has no historical basis and raise critical moral questions [3]; it is unclear how contraception and same-sex relationships are any different. The current political climate exacerbated such fears: Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee [4], and Republicans running for office in Michigan [5], and Arizona [6], have denounced Griswold v. Connecticut which established married couples' right to contraceptives. Texas has banned public funding for Planned Parenthood and emergency contraception, while Missouri legislature has indicated they may follow [7]. This suggests a trajectory from restricting abortion rights before Dobbs, to banning it, and to eventually restrict birth control as well. The counterforce to women and pregnant people's fundamental human rights is advancing and shows no sign of slowing.
Dobbs' immediate repercussions have been felt nationwide. Women and pregnant people are seeking ways to regain control, such as moving out of conservative states and replanning childbirth [8]. Amazon sellers' stocks of emergency pills quickly emptied a day after the decision. Unprepared, they have sought reassurance from manufacturers to increase supply. This, coupled with the price surge, made the pills more difficult to access [9]. Abortion providers in states where abortion is still legal have seen an "insane" surge in patients from abortion-banning states. Patients have been making appointments in different states, so they have other choices when one state fell [10]. Legislation-wise, abortion bans, and restrictions have either taken effect or are forthcoming. Florida's 15-week ban took effect on July 1 [11]. On July 25, Indiana is set to legislate to greatly restrict if not ban abortion [12]. Hours after Dobbs, Ohio's six-week ban commenced, with no exception for rape or incest. Consequently, a 10-year-old Ohio girl who was raped had to travel to Indiana for abortion [13]. Initially discrediting the news, conservatives took aim at the doctor: the Indiana attorney general began investigating whether she violated their strict reporting requirements for abortion [14]. The tragedy partly resulted from the absence in the Dobbs decision about what may constitute the exception of medical necessity, as pointed out by the dissent [15]. Legal uncertainty has also forced activists to train in "sharing" information about self-managed abortion without "training" people to do it to avoid rule-breaking