You can hear the oral arguments from the landmark Roe v. Wade decision here.

There is no question that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a fierce supporter of a woman's right to choose, but she was not a fan of the way Roe v. Wade was constructed. She felt that the fact that it was based on protecting a woman's right to privacy was the wrong approach, leaving it open to attack and making it difficult to defend. Rather, she would have preferred the position that restricting abortion impeded gender equality. The Notorious R.B.G. has been proven right once again, but I'm not sure that Ruth Bader Ginsburg could have imagined the virulence with which Roe v. Wade would be taken down.

Certainly, Roe has been under attack for a while with conservative-run states whittling away at it. But in the Trump era and, especially in the post-Trump timeframe, the attacks have ramped up. The GOP and anti-abortion foes can smell blood in the water with a Supreme Court heavily weighted toward the right, and the decision is expected in the coming months. There are no optimists on this subject.

Polls show that the majority of Americans prefer that abortion be kept legal, but with restrictions. Roe v. Wade does that, restricting abortions after 24 weeks. That time restriction is apparently not enough for the right-wing anti-abortion zealots, and the GOP pandering for votes. Considering that Roe v. Wade is facing a challenge in a highly conservative Supreme Court (6-3 conservative majority), states no longer fear that restrictive bills will be overturned and are taking advantage.

Before we get into some details, we note that several states have "trigger laws" already in place that will take effect immediately in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned. Several other states are working on passing trigger laws as well. You can learn how they work here.

Florida and Kentucky recently enacted a 15-week ban, mirroring the Mississippi law that is at the heart of the SCOTUS challenge. Texas' bill SB 8 restricts abortion at six weeks, before most women know they are pregnant, and creates a citizen bounty hunter scheme to enforce the law. A challenge to this law was prepared, but the Supreme Court refused to block it. Florida had been considering mirroring the Texas law but decided to be more 'generous' (a great deal of snark here) with a 15-week ban. Florida notwithstanding, there are now a number of states moving in the direction of Texas, including Arizona, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Oklahoma's law is even more restrictive than the Texas law, creating a total ban on abortion in that state, and eliminating a refuge for Texans seeking an abortion. Oklahoma was the state most used by Texans who no longer had access to abortions in their own state. We now not only have to create 'sanctuary cities' for immigration, but also for abortion. Tennessee has also enacted a total abortion ban.

States are now taking aim at abortion pills. Two have already restricted the use of these pills, but eight states are considering a total ban on these pills. Texas has even made it difficult to access birth control.

You can track all legislative action on abortion access here.

We do want to note that some states are moving to guarantee women abortion in anticipation of the Roe v. Wade decision. Colorado Governor Jared Polis has already signed such a bill into law.

Learn about state policies on contraception from the Guttmacher Institute here.

If you thought 'A Handmaid's Tale' was pure fiction, you might want to think again. The Roe v. Wade challenge also opens the door for other egregious decisions about women's rights and women's position in society.

This was evident in Missouri where they debated restricting Medicaid coverage for birth control and limiting payments to Planned Parenthood. So, please, don't believe that the War on Women will end here with Roe v. Wade. The misogynists in power who understand the law know that. The people who fail to educate themselves on this subject remain clueless victims.

Once the war on abortion is won, the GOP (Gilead Old Party) will turn its attention to other targets, like birth control. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is one of the most ignorant women on the planet, confuses many things. Like, for example, Gazpacho and Gestapo. Now she's confusing the Plan B pill with the actual abortion pills misoprostol and mifepristone, stating that it kills a baby in the womb. It doesn't. The Plan B pill prevents a woman from ovulating, thus preventing pregnancy entirely. This is how misinformation begins and how it festers, particularly on social media where most people simply swallow what they're fed.

But consider this: All of this is being driven by the Christian right, as it has been from the beginning. When Trump was running for reelection in 2020, I saw literally hundreds of banner ads talking about how reelecting Trump would be the perfect opportunity to turn this back into a 'Christian nation.' The ultimate goal is to define what a woman's role is in America and be sure that those roles are adhered to.

Marjorie Taylor Green, in one rant about transgender women, said that women are the weaker sex and that "we are our husband's wives." When there are women in the public arena talking like this, women everywhere should be very afraid.

What's next here? Heterosexual women being prevented from using birth control to continue procreation? Perhaps only white women because only white babies will be welcome? Forcing lesbians to marry? If you think that's far-fetched, consider that we were being told in 2016 that all of this stuff was a "distraction" from the real issues. Some of the women I was streaming with back then were actually saying that. Look where we are now.

A woman's right to a safe, legal abortion isn't the only thing at risk here. Relegating Roe v. Wade to the dustbin of history threatens your choices about birth control, parenting, and marriage (particularly, same-sex marriage) at risk as well. Read between the lines.

To learn about the comprehensive health care services offered by Planned Parenthood, visit their website here.

In November of 2015, three people were killed and nine wounded during an attack on Planned Parenthood of Colorado Springs.

Contrary to right-wing opinion, the decision to have an abortion is not an easy one and requires the support of health care resources to get through the process. Abortion is not a pleasant topic, but it is part of the reality of women's health care, like it or not.

Anti-abortion activists have long been targeting clinics with their enmity. They often stand outside and harass women entering and leaving the clinic, creating further distress for people already going through an emotionally stressful procedure. Abortion clinics and providers have also been targeted for violence by people who claim to care about the lives of the unborn.

The National Abortion Federation (NAF) has released violence and disruption statistics for 2020, including a full PDF report which you can download here.

Anti-abortion activists and their enablers in the GOP continually claim that Planned Parenthood is an abortion factory. One GOP lawmaker claimed that 94% of Planned Parenthood's services is providing abortions. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the numbers are difficult to nail down because of the way information is collected, it is more like 12-13.5%.

In fact, Planned Parenthood offers a variety of health-related services, and not just for women. Men also rely on Planned Parenthood for routine health care.

There are always threats from politicians who want to 'defund Planned Parenthood' because it offers abortions. What's to defund? The Hyde Amendment, passed in 1976 and enacted in 1977, excludes abortion from the comprehensive health care services provided to those receiving Medicare and Medicaid, and for federal employees, servicewomen, and Washington, D.C. residents.

The exceptions to the Hyde Amendment's provisions are pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, and abortions performed when the life of the mother is in danger. While the Hyde Amendment unfairly targets Black, Indigenous, and other people of color struggling to make ends meet, it is at least more generous than some of the restrictive abortion legislation being passed in GOP-controlled states right now. Both Kentucky and Florida no longer include rape and incest as exceptions. This, at best, can be described as cruelty. Women of financial means do not have such problems and restrictions.

There are states that do not follow the federal guidelines on both sides of the spectrum. Kentucky and Florida represent the extreme side of the coin. Other states do provide comprehensive coverage, bucking the guidelines on the other side of the spectrum. The Guttmacher Institute does a great job summarizing this here. It also has a state legislation tracker which you can follow here.

As we have reported above, several states have made legislative moves to ensure that women have access to abortion services should Roe v. Wade be overturned. Colorado is one such state. Massachusetts is another. These states are listed in the Guttmacher Institute summary.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Planned Parenthood, and the Guttmacher Institute have been calling for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment for years to no avail. Joe Biden has left the Hyde Amendment out of his budget for 2022, and again for 2023, but with the Democrats holding on to a 50-50 Senate, it's impossible to override the GOP on this issue. 

We keep saying this and we'll say it again here: If you want better results on these issues, give the Democrats a bigger majority. You have the power to demand reproductive health justice. It's called voting out the GOP.