Anti-abortion leaders across America were excited a year ago when Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to appear in person at his most high-profile annual event, the March for Life, which celebrates every January.
The mood is now more sober: a mixture of disappointment over Trump’s defeat and the hope that his legacy of court appointments will lead to future court victories that limit abortion rights.
Organizers of this year’s March for Life in Washington, scheduled for next Friday, have asked their supporters to stay home, due to political tensions in the city and the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, they plan to broadcast live the activities of some invited participants, a stark contrast to the tens of thousands of people who often attend.
Meanwhile, Trump, whose administration took numerous steps to limit access to abortion, has been replaced as president by Joe Biden, a staunch advocate for abortion rights. Biden’s fellow Democrats now control both houses of Congress, thanks to victories in two Senate election elections in Georgia, where anti-abortion groups campaigned vigorously for the losing Republican candidates.
On Friday, the 48th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision of the Supreme Court establishing a national right to abortion, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris said they would try to enshrine that right in federal law to protect it from judicial challenges.
“In the last four years, reproductive health, including the right to choose, has been subjected to a relentless and extreme attack.” said his statement. “We are deeply committed to ensuring that everyone has access to care, including reproductive health care.”
The president of the March for Life, Jeanne Mancini, said she and her allies are concerned that the Biden administration is pursuing “radical pro-abortion extremism.” At the same time, anti-abortion activists are favored by Trump’s appointment of dozens of federal judges, including three Supreme Court justices, who are seen as open to Roe’s repeal or weakening against Wade.
In the states governed by the Republic, dozens of anti-abortion bills have been enacted in recent years, and this year more Republican lawmakers appear wanting to see if any of these measures can reach the Supreme Court as challenge Roe against Wade. .
“I’m very optimistic.” said Carol Tobias, chair of the National Committee on the Right to Life. “We will see many new pro-life bills … and we will see judges open to them.”
In Arkansas, a new bill would criminalize abortions except to save the life of a pregnant woman. The measure states, “It is time for the U.S. Supreme Court to amend and correct the grave injustice and crime against humanity that are perpetuated with its decisions in Roe v. Wade” and other cases.
The Texas legislature will also consider several abortion bans. In Montana, anti-abortion laws are expected to advance now that Republican Greg Gianforte has replaced Democrat Gov. Steve Bullock. Bullock supported abortion rights for eight years in office.
South Carolina lawmakers are considering a bill banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, usually about six weeks after conception. Similar laws have been passed in other states, but courts have blocked their enforcement.
Elizabeth Nash, who monitors government issues at the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, says anti-abortion legislation may be a top priority even in states where lawmakers face it. to multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and serious budget problems.
Referring to anti-abortion lawmakers, Nash said, “They see the Supreme Court is in their corner, and it’s their job to continue to pass restrictions and bans.”
Among abortion rights activists, there is relief and optimism as the Biden administration takes power. Biden is expected to issue executive orders reversing Trump’s anti-abortion actions.
One such order would repeal the so-called “global gag rule” that prohibits the use of U.S. outside assistance for abortion-related services. Another order would rescind what abortion rights advocates called the “domestic gag rule,” which prohibited Title X family planning funds from going to any health care provider who performed or referred abortions. The ban caused Planned Parenthood, the U.S.’s leading abortion provider, to leave the program instead of complying with it.
Proponents of abortion rights also expect Congress, under democratic control, to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for abortions unless a woman’s life is in danger or in cases of rape or incest. .
Biden, a longtime advocate of the amendment, reversed it in 2019 and now favors its repeal. But the prospects for revocation are uncertain, given that Democrats would need some Republican votes in the Senate to overcome a potential hurdle.
However, a narrow majority in the Democratic Senate is expected to be enough to confirm Biden’s appointment to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a staunch advocate for abortion rights, to head the Department of Health and Human Services. .
Major anti-abortion groups invested large sums and mobilized hundreds of volunteers to support Republican Party Senate candidates in Georgia, hoping to maintain Republican control so Becerra could be rejected.
Becerra and Biden are Roman Catholics and the new administration’s support for abortion rights poses a dilemma for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Its president, Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose Gomez, congratulated Biden on Wednesday on his inauguration, but warned that his abortion and contraception policies “advance moral ills and threaten people’s lives and dignity.” “.
Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood, said the worries that plagued her throughout 2020 gave way to joy with the Democrats ’Senate victories in Georgia.
“I was actually able to breathe with hope and possibility,” he said. “But we recognize that the struggle continues – the courts and many of our state legislatures will be very difficult for us.”
Although there is still not enough data to show whether abortions have increased or decreased during the pandemic, there is some evidence that more women induced their own abortions, using abortion pills that they could buy or receive by mail. from a foreign source. It is becoming increasingly easy for women to evade U.S. legislation that requires the pill to be dispensed by a health care professional.
Abigail Aiken, a professor of public affairs at the University of Texas, said online abortion pill provider Aid Access received an increase in requests at the start of the pandemic, when some states cited the outbreak as a reason to limit access to abortion in clinics.
Requests nearly doubled in Texas, which had the most severe pandemic-related restrictions on clinics, Aiken said, whose research was published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Elisa Wells, co-director of another online organization called Plan C, estimates that tens of thousands of American women each year look for abortion pills for self-managed abortions, based on the number of clicks on the Plan C website, which includes overseas pharmacies that offer to send the pills.