What Now?
On June 24th, 2022, in an unprecedented decision, The Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated federal protections for the right to abortion. Abortion is illegal in roughly half of the United States. Explore the map below to see where these rights are most threatened.
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These states have expanded access and have moved beyond just protecting the right to abortion. There is work to expand access to abortion and increase affordability.
Legal or protected. It is protected either in state statute or the state constitution.
May remain and is currently accessible but does not have legal protection. Lawmakers or courts will decide.
Hostile states have multiple abortion restrictions in place such as waiting periods, gestational cutoffs, TRAP laws, etc. States considered hostile may have abortion bans that went into effect immediately when Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Enforcing trigger bans to prohibit abortion entirely.
Now That Roe v. Wade is Overturned?
Resourced from https://reproductiverights.org
States Immediately Banned Abortion
Over half the states in the US made abortion illegal through a trigger ban or previous in state ban.
Millon Lost Abortion Access
Nearly half of US women aged 13 to 44 live in states deemed by the Guttmacher Institute as hostile to abortion rights.
How does this decision affect Colorado?
Fortunately, Colorado passed the Reproductive Health Equity Act this year and your right to abortion is protected in Colorado. However, several states surrounding Colorado, including Idaho, North Dakota, Utah, Oklahoma, and Wyoming have all banned abortion. Arizona had a pre-Roe ban which means they will likely ban abortion immediately or shortly following the decision.
Understand these hostile laws. Read about trigger bans here.
Want to support the fight for reproductive rights?
Now that the right to abortion is left up to individual states, it’s going to become even more difficult to access. Patients will face unexpected costs like flights, hotels, and have to navigate traveling out of their home states for abortion care.
Get involved with Cobalt or support the Cobalt Abortion Fund and help abortion care remain a reality. Explore all the ways you can help below.
Abortion Funds
The Most Impactful Way to Support Abortion Access
People facing barriers to abortion access often face more than one, beyond the cost alone. Some abortion funds, like the Cobalt Abortion Fund, also provide practical support, including transportation, child care payment, lodging, translation services, abortion doulas, and more.
Abortion funds often work with each other if they can’t fully assist someone, or if that person is traveling across regions. Supporting abortion funds who are helping people navigate those barriers is a critical piece of keeping abortion accessible.
Education
Knowledge is power
As federal protection around abortion and reproductive rights has been overturned, it’s more important than ever to be informed and stay informed about the quickly changing landscape state by state. Communication and misinformation around abortion have been prevalent since early May when the draft leaked, even among healthcare providers, and will only continue since the decision has been released.
Most Importantly, abortions are still legal in certain states.Colorado being one.
GET involved
Walk the walk
Rally with us! Cobalt and other coalition orgs are rallying, marching, and protesting for abortion rights. You can stay up to date on what’s coming up by following our social page.
Become a volunteer. Help us build our membership and elect pro-abortion rights candidates sign up to volunteer with us here.
Be informed about access, funds, messaging, and action steps.
VOTE
Your voice makes a difference
We must elect leaders at every level of government who will not only protect the right to abortion but who will fight to move beyond just legality and fight to eliminate the structural, financial, and systemic barriers that restrict abortion access.
See who’s running for office in your area and if there are any reproductive rights issues on this year’s ballot.