Article: Arjun Sawhney on Congresswoman Lauren Underwood: The Consequences of the Dobbs Decision
When interviewing Congresswoman Laren Underwood, asking for insight on her work regarding women’s healthcare.
“Since Dobbs, we have seen 1 in 3 women live in a state with a partial or total abortion ban. Every state that borders Illinois has posted a partial or total abortion ban, which means that Illinois is seeing a lot of folks traveling into our state to get the healthcare that they need... It has really impacted people locally’s (people in and around Illinois’) ability to get healthcare services”
More than 37,000 women traveled across the country to receive healthcare in Illinois in the last year. This number is only expected to increase in coming years, making Underwood's struggle for “fair access to healthcare” all the more pivotal for access to abortion services in Illinois and beyond. However, Congresswoman Underwood expressed worries regarding the future of reproductive healthcare, particularly as state and federal courts continue to review and challenge laws surrounding reproductive care.
“The work that I’ve done at least, when we (The Democratic Party) have had the majority, in the house at least, we pass legislation to restore obviously restore Roe, to affirm our right to privacy, to affirm we can travel across state lines (specifically for abortion), to protect contraception… Now we have had to draft legislation to protect fertility services like IVF that have come under attack”
The consequences of the Dobbs decision are becoming more apparent by the day. With the results of the recent election giving the Republican party an upper hand in the House, Senate, and Presidency, pro-choice supporters must be wary of legislation that impedes their access to reproductive healthcare necessities.
“This issue has consequences far beyond elective abortion rights and the way the debate has been framed so narrowly and I do a lot of work in maternal mortality and we have seen in the states that have enacted an increase in maternal death. Most recently there have been stories of Candy Miller and Amber Therman, two black women who have died in states with bans, and it is just devastating, so there obviously a lot of work to do”
From 2020 to early 2023, states with trigger laws (Restrictive Laws regarding abortion) have shown a 62% increase in the number of maternal deaths when differentiating from open-abortion states. Now, over 40 states, an increase of over 14 from the previous study, have full or partial restrictions regarding abortions. Maternal Mortality rates are only expected to rise in the upcoming years.
Families must prepare for the difficulties regarding pregnancies to increase exponentially. More than ever, officials may not be able to provide healthcare without risk of imprisonment. Cases of maternal mortality are arising across the United States; For example, Candy Miller was a Georgian mother of three before succumbing to a medical disaster relating to trigger laws. She had been warned by doctors that, were she to become pregnant again, her life would be at great risk. She was denied access to healthcare and instead attempted to have an abortion herself. Her attempt, to take abortion pills, was unsuccessful and she passed due to a combination of the effects of her condition and the drugs. When ten doctors reviewed her case, each said it was easily preventable had she been given proper care.
Doctors are often prevented, under threat of imprisonment, from providing access to patients who need it. Democrats are worried that restricting access to maternal healthcare could negatively impact the safety of pregnant people during childbirth, fostering an exponential boom in mortality rates for pregnant people. Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, regardless of political views, highlights a key issue - women are dying across America when it is easily preventable.