Roe Reckonings: Abortion Bans are not just about abortion

Another week, another reminder that the end of Roe was never just about abortion.

This week, new research showed abortion bans are making miscarriage care worse. Patients in ban states are more likely to face delayed, “wait and see” responses, and less likely to receive evidence-based medical treatment. That is what happens when politicians criminalise pregnancy care and then pretend doctors can still do their jobs.

In Arkansas, one woman’s story laid bare the cruelty of these laws. During a miscarriage at 17 weeks, she says doctors told her their “hands were tied” because of the state’s abortion ban. She was eventually transferred out of state, where she haemorrhaged and needed emergency surgery.

Meanwhile, Colorado showed what proactive protection can look like. A new state law will require public college and university health centres to provide access to abortion medication from 2027, moving care closer to students at a time when states with bans are forcing people to travel.

And in Virginia, the ballot box is another frontline. Voters are set to decide on a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive freedom, including abortion, contraception, miscarriage care and fertility treatment.

The week’s lesson is painfully clear: abortion bans do not stay neatly contained. They spread into miscarriage care, emergency medicine, campus healthcare, telehealth and every corner of reproductive life.

The anti-abortion movement is relentless and looking for every possible route to control pregnancy.