Consequences of the Dobbs decision

It’s been a year since the Supreme Court stripped women of their nearly 50 year right to make their own reproductive health care decisions. Its Dobbs v. Jackson decision has created a ripple effect, catching many people by surprise:

1. For the first time ever, a majority of Americans say abortion is morally acceptable and recent abortion laws are too strict.

2. For the first time in two decades, more people identify as pro-choice versus pro-life.

3. For the first time in 49 years, “Dobbs decision transferred all-or-nothing disputes to the states” (Wall Street Journal, June 29), an undue burden on state courts.

4. A recent NBC News poll found voters who oppose the court’s actions include 55 percent of men, 67 percent of women, 66 percent of suburban women, 77 percent of female voters ages 18-49, 92 percent of Democrats, 60 percent of independents and 31 percent of Republicans.

5. A March17-May 18 Kaiser Family Foundation survey of 569 OBGYN doctors revealed shocking findings, “68 percent found the [Dobbs] ruling has worsened their ability to manage pregnancy-related emergencies, [and] has worsened pregnancy-related mortality (64 percent), racial and ethnic inequities in maternal health (70 percent) and the ability to attract new OBGYNs to the field (55 percent).”

6. Black women are 3.5 times more likely to die due to maternal mortality than their white counterparts; banning abortion will not help Black women.

7. The states with the highest maternal mortality rates also lead the nation in anti-abortion legislation.

8. Isabella Oishi, Georgetown Law student, writes since the Texas Heartbeat Act (SB 8) became law, it did not reduce the need for abortion care. Rather, there has been an 11-fold increase in Texans crossing state lines for abortions (April, 2022).

9. Federal judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly argued a constitutional right to abortion may be found in the 13th Amendment, an area that was ignored by the Supreme Court (National Review, Feb. 7).

10. Andrew Koppelman, author of “Forced Labor: A Thirteenth Amendment Defense of Abortion,” writes “forced pregnancy’s violation of personal liberty is obvious. Restrictions on abortion also violate the [13th] amendment’s guarantee of equality, because forcing women to be mothers makes them into a servant caste, a group that, by virtue of a status of birth, is held subject to a special duty to serve others and not themselves” (National Review, Feb. 7).

13. Elie Mystal, a legal scholar, wrote in the March 2022 issue of The Nation: “these [anti-abortion] states are borrowing traces of the sadistic logic and psychological tactics of this country’s enslavers.” As recently as June 29, Ja’han Jones, a research-based author, concurred with Mystal, noting “with abortion rights being rescinded across the country, it’s more important than ever that we call restrictions on this vital procedure what they actually are: slavery.”

In 2024, GOP candidates will — most likely — purposely ignore these multitude of findings while Democrats will tout women’s reproductive rights.

SCOTUS’s 6-3 decision created this unnecessary chaos for 334 million Americans.

Steve Corbin is professor emeritus of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa.