Going backward on abortion rights is a dangerous mistake in Kentucky and the nation

Roe v. Wade has been the precedent for the entire life of every single woman of childbearing age in this country. Despite years of attacks from our state legislatures, the fundamental right to an abortion, essential to women’s self-determination, has remained intact. Then came the draft opinion by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito signaling the court’s intention to end the right to abortion in this country.

It seems an activist court is ready to unlock the gates that conservatives have been storming for decades and set us backward 50 years, endangering the lives and livelihoods of women across Kentucky.

No one — including my Republican colleagues in the General Assembly — thinks abortion will end if Roe is overturned, even in states like ours that have “trigger laws” designed to close clinics and ban the procedure immediately. Instead, abortion will go underground and across state lines.

Some women will be forced to endure pregnancies caused by rape and incest while others will be compelled to carry fetuses without heartbeats or brains that will not survive outside the womb. All women will lose the freedom to choose when they are pregnant and when they are not, denying them their humanity. Majority legislators refuse to acknowledge their culpability in the wave of suffering that’s coming.

Already, pregnancy is a dangerous proposition in Kentucky, especially for Black women. Our maternal mortality crisis has made pregnancy more dangerous than it was when I was born in the 1980s. Abortion, on the other hand, is a safe medical procedure, safer than getting your tonsils taken out, and a heck of a lot safer than childbirth.

Most abortions are performed on women who are already mothers. This tells me that women make the decision to end a pregnancy after considering the immense physical, mental, and financial toll of parenting that they know all too well.

After we give birth, we know we go home to big medical bills and an utter lack of support from the state that wants to regulate our bodies. I have introduced legislation to support moms and babies, but the Republican majority won’t pass it.

Women are on their own, just as soon as the majority-male legislature ensures they stay pregnant. We have no paid leave program (1 in 4 moms return to work within 2 weeks). No universal childcare (average cost for infant care in KY: $6,400 a year). No universal pre-k. The Kentucky General Assembly is a real deadbeat co-parent.

When I talk about abortion as a matter of economic and gender justice, a necessity that allows women the chance to be fully autonomous citizens, I sometimes hear, “Birth control is free and everybody can get it, so we don’t need abortion anymore.” This is dead wrong.

Contraception remains harder to get than it should be. 300,000 KY women live in counties without a health center that dispenses contraception, and we already face a critical OB-GYN shortage that will only be made worse with threats of anonymous hotlines and criminal penalties for providing care.

For years I have introduced bills that will reduce unwanted pregnancies, such as offering long-acting reversible contraception to postpartum mothers in the hospital, and permitting patients to receive 12-months of birth control on one prescription. I’m still waiting on a hearing.

The outlook for abortion rights is bleak right now, but it’s important to remember that there are more of us who believe in a woman’s right to choose her own destiny, and we are never without power.

A famous protest chant goes: “Abortion rights are under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

Here are three good ways to fight back right now:

Donate to an abortion fund, like the Kentucky Health Justice Network’s Support Fund at https://www.kentuckyhealthjusticenetwork.org/abortion-support-fund.html, to cover the costs of medical care, transportation, and lodging for women seeking abortions.

Start recommending https://www.plancpills.org/, where women can learn how to access safe, at-home abortion.

Vote no this November on the anti-abortion constitutional amendment, and vote for candidates who support abortion rights. If you don’t have any on your ballot, get ready to run in 2024.

State Rep. Josie Raymond is a Democrat representing the District 31 in Jefferson County.

This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 8:51 AM.