Anti-abortion advocates believe further restrictions on abortion access are necessary when Republican Donald Trump returns to the White House next year as online orders for abortion pills have surged since Election Day, as some women anticipate tightened regulations.
They point to recent federal guidance from Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, which requires hospitals to perform emergency abortions for women whose health or lives are at risk, and eases restrictions on abortion pills, enabling women to order the medication online with a simple click.
“Now the work begins to dismantle the pro-abortion policies of the Biden-Harris administration,” the Susan B. Anthony List, a powerful anti-abortion lobby, said in a statement Wednesday.
“President Trump’s first-term pro-life accomplishments are the baseline for his second term.”
The group has not specified what actions they plan to pursue. However, abortion rights advocates are preparing for potential new restrictions under a Trump administration.
Although Trump has stated that abortion is a matter for states rather than the federal government, he highlighted his appointment of Supreme Court justices who played a key role in overturning the national right to abortion. His administration could support the anti-abortion movement by selecting judges and issuing regulations aligned with this agenda.
The Trump administration is expected to reverse Biden’s directive mandating that emergency rooms provide abortions in life- or health-threatening cases. The Biden administration had argued that a longstanding federal law requiring stabilising treatment for Medicare-funded patients also applies when an abortion may be necessary.
Reports of hospitals turning away women in dangerous conditions have increased nationwide since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to revoke the national right to abortion. Some hospitals cited state bans as the reason for denying pregnancy terminations in life-threatening cases.
“We’re seeing the lives of pregnant people be put in jeopardy,” Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, said Wednesday.
“We’re seeing women who have become infertile, who have been subject to sepsis, and we’re now hearing reports with death.”
Goss Graves added that advocacy groups would legally challenge a potential Trump administration’s reversal of the Biden guidance on emergency abortions.
Some doctors and hospitals in states with stringent abortion bans, like Idaho and Texas, have said that Biden’s guidance provided legal cover to perform emergency abortions. Without it, healthcare providers fear prosecution, even in emergencies.
Trump has expressed support for exceptions in cases of rape, incest, and threats to a woman’s life. However, he has not committed to exemptions for other health risks.
In rare but critical scenarios, abortions may be necessary to prevent serious harm, such as organ failure, heavy bleeding, or dangerous infections. For example, in cases of ectopic pregnancies or severe complications, continuing a pregnancy can be life-threatening, though the fetus may still be alive.
Doctors have argued that vague laws put them in difficult positions.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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