Should the U.S. Supreme Court go ahead with the decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that federally legalized abortion, in keeping with the documentation that was leaked publicly ahead of the actual decision that is expected this summer, over half of the states in the U.S. would then institute some form of abortion ban.
With many of those bans enacted as total bans, even in situations where the mother’s health is at risk, women in those states who seek life-saving care could have to travel incredible distances to get the treatment they require.
The average Texas citizen, for example, would have to travel about 525 miles one-way for a safe abortion administered by a licensed medical doctor. The Lone Star State ranks third in that metric, according to a study by the Guttmacher Institute.
Floridians would rank second in that scenario, with an average of 567 miles between a woman and a safe abortion. Louisiana would rank first at 630 miles.
“It’s a well-known fact that restrictions don’t stop people from needing abortion,” Guttmacher Institute CEO Dr. Herminia Palacio said in a release that accompanied the study. “Instead, they push care out of reach for many people by making abortion more expensive and logistically challenging to get. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, people seeking abortion will have to travel significantly farther to get care.”
Supplemental to these partial or total bans, some states are going even further. Missouri is mulling a bill to stop residents of the state from going elsewhere for an abortion, while Louisiana is looking into classifying any abortion as a criminal homicide subject to years in prison.
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