It has been nearly a year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned about 50 years of nationwide abortion rights. Whats called the Dobbs decision replaced Roe vs Wade and sent authority for abortion law back to the states. So how have people for and against abortions rights adjusted to the new landscape?
The world after the Dobbs decision has increased the pressure on people seeking abortions and people providing themwith tighter timelines, higher demand, and longer waits for appointments, but also more donations and volunteers willing to help.
So when the Dobbs decision came down and Roe vs Wade was overturned, you know, there was just like an immediate upheaval. We had immediately patients across the state contacting us panicked, not knowing what the legal status of abortion was in Arizona
Melissa is with the Tucson Abortion Support Collective. For the last eight years its been dedicated to helping people connect with abortion resources and helping to cover their costs. She says demand soared statewide after the Dobbs decision.
In 2021, we spent about $38,000 in the whole year on abortion funding. In 2022, we spent about 140,000. And currently we’re on track to spend probably about 250 to 275 thousand this year, and that’s all from donations from people in our community and across the country.
Soon after the Dobbs decision Arizona began enforcing a law that forbids abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.
Thats led to a shift of resources toward the cost of transporting abortion seekers to states that allow abortions later in pregnancy.
Melissa says the abortion landscape has settled into a more predictable pattern since the first days after Dobbs.
We feel like things are, you know, sort of stable in Arizona. There’s the ongoing concerns about the availability of medication abortion that I think is also stable for now.
And she says as demand has grown, theres been a growth in donations and people volunteering to help.