Thanks to Trump, Abortion Access is Dwindling Across the Midwest Arrow

Last week, the same week of the two-year anniversary of Donald Trump's Supreme Court justices overturning Roe v. Wade, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a MAGA-led abortion ban - one that bans abortion before many women even know they're pregnant. This devastating decision came just mere hours after Trump doubled down on his anti-choice, anti-freedom agenda on the debate stage and called the overturning of Roe a 'great thing.'

Since the fall of Roe, health care systems in states that have protected abortion access like Illinois and Minnesota have come under strain as women living in states with draconian bans are forced to escape their home states to get the critical care they need. However, even in states that have enshrined reproductive rights into law, reproductive health care is now in jeopardy. One thing is for certain: if Trump receives a second term in office, he will ban abortion nationwide.

See commentary from Minnesota and Illinois below:

MinnPost: Opinion: Minnesota has become an island for abortion access in the Midwest

[Lindsey Port, 07/02/24]

"Last month marked two years since - thanks to Donald Trump - the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and erased nearly five decades of precedent that gave women across the country the right to abortion care and kept the politics of MAGA Republicans out of the doctor's office.

"Since then, we've been witness to the power grabs of extreme Republicans as they continue to implement draconian bans and endanger women's lives.

"Minnesota has become an island for abortion access for women who have fallen victim to the bans made possible by Trump and his MAGA Republican allies - including the over three million women in the Midwest who now live under a ban. Hundreds of women travel every week to our state to access the care they need; in fact, the need for abortion care in Minnesota has risen almost 36% since the fall of Roe.

"Minnesota has had to expand our clinics to ensure that we can see every single patient who has been forced to travel to receive the care they need. However, even as we face the pressure and consequences of Trump and Republicans' cruelty, I'm proud that our state remains a beacon of light for women.

"Our role as a refuge for abortion seekers can't be overstated. Now that the Iowa Supreme Court has decided to enforce MAGA Republicans' draconian ban - one that bans abortion before many women even know they're pregnant - that role will become even more essential.

[…]

"Trump's war on women's freedoms didn't stop with Roe's overturn. Republicans in states like Alabama, Texas and, yes, Iowa have put IVF in jeopardy. Louisiana legislators just criminalized the possession of safe and effective abortion medication, and Trump recently left the door open to banning it nationwide.

"Minnesota is a staunch, pro-choice state. I was proud to join my DFL colleagues in the Legislature and Gov. Tim Walz in aligning with the beliefs of two-thirds of Minnesota voters by further enshrining abortion rights into state law and safeguarding women's freedom to travel for abortion care. We believe in protecting the autonomy of every single woman in our state - and of all those who have had to shoulder the burden that Trump and Republicans have created.

"Meanwhile, Trump continues to tout his anti-freedom agenda to ban abortion nationwide. The horror-inducing bans we're seeing states enact across the country and across the Midwest - including the same bans that have required women to carry nonviable pregnancies and forced young girls to give birth - have made our state a health care island. His crusade against reproductive freedom is why we're committed to reelecting President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

"President Biden and Vice President Harris are the only people at the top of the ticket who will defend women's freedoms. They're fighting to ensure access to emergency medical care, protect women from Republicans' efforts to restrict contraception and safeguard women's ability to travel for care. Minnesota will continue to be a shelter for women who need access to abortion care, including women in Iowa.

"However, our fight can only continue if we send President Biden and Vice President Harris back to the White House. If Trump receives a second term as president, he will enact a national ban and overturn all of the work our DFL leaders have done to make Minnesota a safe haven for abortion access - not just for Minnesotan women, but for all of the women who need it.

"Minnesotans don't take attacks on our freedoms lightly. We have already rejected Trump and his anti-freedom agenda twice - and we'll do it again this November."

Crain's Chicago Business: Opinion: How Illinois became ground zero in the battle to preserve abortion access

[Lisa Hernandez, 06/25/24]

"Two years ago, the Supreme Court - stacked with anti-choice justices by Donald Trump - overturned Roe v. Wade. Nearly half a century of precedent that recognized the right of women across the country to access abortion care and that kept politics out of the doctor's office was discarded. Since then, extreme Republicans continue to put women's lives in danger, with Black, Latina and lower-income women-groups who already suffer from maternal health disparities-disproportionately impacted by these archaic bans.

"After Roe, Illinois has become a beacon of abortion access. Over 3 million women in the Midwest now live under an abortion ban, and hundreds of women travel every single week to our state to receive the care they need. In fact, providers have stated that out-of-state abortions have quadrupled since the fall of Roe. Our role as a refuge for abortion seekers cannot be overstated. As the Iowa Supreme Court is set to hand down its decision this month on whether or not to make Iowan women suffer under an archaic ban - one that would ban abortion before many women even know they're pregnant - services in our great state could become even more crucial.

"Each and every abortion ban that goes into effect is a result of Trump's radical, anti-choice agenda. He has continuously boasted about his role in orchestrating the fall of Roe, even going so far as to say he was 'very honored' to have ended it, and stating the bans that are putting women's lives at risk are 'working very brilliantly.'

[…]

"Illinois Republicans would undoubtedly fall in line with Trump to help implement his strategy to ban abortion nationwide. At the party's recent state convention, members adopted a platform that called for the 'restoration of the culture of life in Illinois' and condemned Illinois for becoming 'the most radically pro-abortion state in the union.' Unfortunately for our state's GOP, we're proud to be a sanctuary for women who have nowhere else to turn for the care they need and deserve.

[…]

"If Trump is able to enact a national abortion ban, all of the work that we've done at the state level to protect abortion rights will be diminished. Illinois women will be living in a nightmare."

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