Repro Roundup: AGs, prosecutors, declare they will not enforce any anti-abortion laws if Roe falls

Welcome to my column, The Repro Roundup, in which I summarize abortion news happening around the country, why it matters, and what you can do about it — in 250 words or less.

What’s the issue? In an unprecedented move, attorneys general and prosecutors have come together to declare they will not be enforcing anti-abortion laws should Roe v Wade be overturned, according to the Washington Post on Wednesday. Roe was a 1973 Supreme Court case that made abortion legal in all 50 states but with the imminent confirmation of Amy Coney Barret to the court, abortion is all but guaranteed to be outlawed on a federal level, leaving individual states to decide whether abortion will be made legal or not. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, twenty-four states will automatically make abortion illegal because they have “trigger laws” on the book. In their joint statement, the 60 lawyers said, “It is imperative that we use our discretion to decline to prosecute personal healthcare choices criminalized under such laws.”

Why does this matter? Abortion has been a constitutional right since 1973 and it is extremely momentous that prosecutors of this caliber will refuse to press charges against those who will seek abortion care should Roe fall. White women, upper-class women, and educated women will be more likely to cross state borders or even travel abroad to obtain abortion care and would be much less likely to face harsh penalties than women of color and those struggling to make ends meet. Low-income women of color are already over-policed and criminalized, outlawing abortion will simply compound this in new and dangerous ways. Women will be forced to obtain an illegal abortion and suffer the consequences.

What action can I take?

• Read the full letter and find the list of signatories
• Read more about the Women’s Health Protection Act from the Act for Women campaign
• Call your senators and urge them to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, a law that would make abortion legal through the legislature using this pre-filled email from the National Council of Jewish Women
• Donate to the National Network of Abortion Funds, a WOC-lead reproductive justice organization that helps connect people those trying to finance abortion care with funding
• Utilize this map from the Center for Reproductive Rights to see which states would protect abortion access and which would roll it back

• Subscribe to The Repro Queen of DC, my monthly newsletter on abortion access, activism, and writing on the frontlines of DC.
• Subscribe to Repro 101, a seven-week educational email series about all things repro. Topics include the basics of funding abortion, clinic escorting, anti-choice violence, and more.