June 2022 marks two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Number of forced patients The number of people seeking abortion services out of state has doubled.14 Each state One state bans abortion entirely, three more restrict abortion after six weeks (before most people know they’re pregnant), and two others restrict abortion after the first trimester.
Often overlooked in discussions of reproductive rights are people on community supervision, also known as probation or parole, who are often prohibited from traveling across state lines without government approval. New report from public policy think tank The Prison Policy Initiative applies these challenges to the context of non-Roe countries.
According to the PPI analysis, about 800,000 women in the U.S. are on probation or parole. Probation occurs when a convicted person serves their sentence outside of prison but is still subject to legal supervision and restrictions. Parole is a similar concept, but allows those who have served their time in prison to be released early, provided they follow strict rules.
These conditions can include high fees, curfews, work requirements, travel restrictions, visits with probation or parole officers, etc. All states and Washington DC restrict the movements of people on community supervision. Violating these restrictions can lead to prison time.
Fifty-three percent of women on probation or parole live in 21 states that have abortion restrictions earlier than fetal viability, which is usually around 22 to 25 weeks. As a result, only one in six women on probation or parole has access to abortion services at any stage of pregnancy without needing permission to cross state lines, according to the PPI briefing.
“I think it’s much harder for people on community supervision because they literally have to go ask a probation officer or a court for permission to cross state lines,” said Wendy Sawyer, research director at the Prison Policy Initiative. “They have to provide very detailed information about their travel plans, and they’re putting their right to abortion care in the hands of people who don’t have a say in that decision.”
The PPI briefing did not go into detail about transgender and non-binary people who may become pregnant. Data sources such as the US Bureau of Justice Statistics say: In most cases, no specific mention is made LGBTQ+ people.
The three states with the nation’s strictest anti-abortion laws have high rates of women on community supervision: Texas, Florida, and Georgia combined have 227,801 women on probation or parole, nearly 30 percent of the women on community supervision nationwide, according to the PPI breakdown.
Texas First Banning abortions after six weeks The pregnancy ban, SB 8, passed in 2021. The year after Roe was overturned, the state almost completely banned the procedure. Besides saving lives Last year, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld a six-week abortion ban and also upheld Florida’s six-week abortion ban. To come into effect in MayThe Southern States The majority of them Either a total abortion ban or a six-week ban has left people in the South with few options for care.
“This is tragic. It doesn’t surprise me at all that the states that have consistently restricted people’s health care are also the ones with the most community surveillance of women in the state. This is no coincidence,” said Kylie Sanderlin, legal services director at If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, a reproductive health legal and advocacy group. Repro Legal Consultation Center.
Sanderlin oversees the helpline, which takes calls from people on parole and probation.
“My number one goal with people every day on the helpline is, ‘How can we mitigate this? How can we share information so you feel like you can make the best decision for you and your family?'” Sanderlin said. “I feel powerless in these particular situations because there’s no mitigation or risk mitigation. I feel completely powerless.”
Access to abortion pills is also precarious. Last week, the Supreme Court Rejected unanimously The case could limit access to abortion pills: In states that ban abortions, some health care providers offer them by mail, but not everyone who wants them has access.
Demographics of women who are disproportionately affected by abortion restrictions nationwide — low-income women and women of color, especially Black women — are also the same groups more vulnerable to incarceration and criminalization: 70% of women on probation and 65% of women on parole earn less than $20,000 a year, according to a separate PPI report based on 2019 data.
People who live in states with near-total bans have little ability to officially apply to travel for an abortion. In Texas, for example, many cities and counties have passed ordinances banning people from traveling outside the state for an abortion. Even in states that allow some abortion, pregnant women under local supervision may face delays in travel approval.
Depending on where they live, people on parole or probation must submit a travel application between 10 days and four weeks before traveling. Travel Application Form In Nebraska, which has a 12-week ban, people are asked for their departure and return dates, the method and purpose of their travel, and the address of their lodgings. Additionally, dozens of states that allow abortion have mandatory waiting periods and require counseling before an abortion can be obtained, meaning pregnant people must stay overnight or make a second or third trip to an area where abortions are available.
These restrictions may place you on probation or parole in difficult circumstances, your travel application may be denied, and you may be at risk of violating the conditions of your travel authorization.
“Black bodies are certainly under policing and attack, and that’s built on history and foundations in this country,” said Camion Conner, executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund. “At the TEA Fund, we say abortion bans are racist because we know and have a purpose in what communities and people they’re targeting. It’s another way of controlling what we do with our bodies, where we travel with our bodies, and how our bodies can be tracked.”
This article is 19th.
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