Democratic states are finding themselves in uncharted territory as they set up funds to support abortion access not only for their own residents, but for those traveling from states where the procedure could be banned.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday that the state will allocate $35 million to protect abortion providers, the latest of at least 42 cost-related measures introduced in 12 states this year, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. Many are girding for a surge in demand for care, as neighboring states continue to restrict abortion access in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Blue states are taking more concrete efforts to cast themselves as abortion havens and combat the ongoing upheaval in access to reproductive care that was ratcheted up following the leaked Supreme Court opinion draft that may overturn Roe v. Wade. Reversing the 50-year precedent would mean abortion would no longer be protected by the U.S. Constitution and that states could make their own laws.
