SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Overturning the landmark Roe V. Wade decision could have major consequences for women seeking abortion services outside of California, experts say. It could have those women turning to a state where lawmakers are vowing to protect those rights.
“It doesn’t end the need for abortion,” said Lauren Babb, a spokesperson with the Planned Parenthood Mar Monte Health Centers, which serves the Sacramento area. “It simply ends the ability to get a safe medical procedure.”
Restricting access to abortion services is dangerous, Babb said.
“For folks who cannot afford to get access to care in a state where they live or they may end unfortunately dying from trying to end their own pregnancies,” Baab said. “Just like many folks did before Roe.”
Planned Parenthood officials say reversing the landmark decision could make California the nearest state for 1.4 million women to access safe abortion services. Dr. Daniel Grossman, with the University of San Francisco, said those numbers and problems could grow.
“Increased risk of maternal mortality and increased socio-economic risks,” Grossman said. “They’re more likely to be living in poverty.”
He said some women, often those with friends and family here, have traveled to California to access services, but they’re not coming by the hundreds of thousands.
“If there just were a streamlined way that people in these states with a ban could figure out where they could access care for example here in California and be supported to fly here and access that care,” Grossman said. “That system doesn’t exist. That’s really what we need.”
He’s concerned that, without options, some may be forced to self-manage, which could put them at serious health and legal risks.
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