COVID-19 Abortion Restrictions Foreshadows What's to Come

Business Insider Reports: 'I see a danger in returning to a pre-Roe world:' Abortion advocates view coronavirus-era restrictions as a dark sign of what could come

Throughout the pandemic, states have continuously tried to limit access to abortion. States have tried to limit or band abortion by deeming them "non-essential" procedures and that they use necessary medical supplies for COVID-19 treatment. This has forced many patients to drive incredibly long distances to receive the procedure.

"I see a danger in returning to a pre-Roe world," Reverend Katherine Ragsdale, president and CEO of the National Abortion Federation, said, in reference to the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe V. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide and is perennially under legal siege.

While many of the restrictions have been blocked or have expired, these efforts by states give insight into what may lie ahead for abortion rights and has put many people on the defensive.

Arkansas is currently the only state that actively has abortion restrictions in place due to the coronavirus. A federal appeals court held up an initial ban on surgical abortions, but restrictions elective surgeries began to ease late last month. However, on April 27, the state's health department issued a rule that required a woman to receive a negative coronavirus test result 48 hours before an elective surgery. Arguing that this created a new hurdle to access at a time when the tests remain scarce, the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the case on behalf of Arkansas' last remaining clinic but a federal judge rejected the motion on May 7, the Associated Press reported.

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