New Bedford Light | Women’s advocates worry Trump could limit abortion rights here
by Anastasia E. Lennon | Originally Published by the New Bedford Light
In Massachusetts, abortion protections are enshrined in the state constitution. But with former President Donald Trump set to return to the Oval Office in January, legal and reproductive rights experts worry about how federal actions under his administration could curtail rights at the state level.
Massachusetts abortion rights advocates said they were concerned and disturbed on Wednesday in the hours after polls declared Trump — who one called the “greatest threat” in generations — as the decisive winner.
“Donald Trump’s Supreme Court ushered in abortion bans in 22 states across our country, leaving millions of people without access to basic health care … Donald Trump’s abortion bans have killed pregnant people,” said Reproductive Equity Now President Rebecca Hart Holder in a statement.
Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices in his first term, who helped to overturn Roe v. Wade. In the immediate aftermath, several states banned abortion under nearly all circumstances, while others put very restrictive measures in place. As of this month, 13 states have full bans.
Out-of-state abortion patients nearly doubled in Massachusetts from 600 in 2020 to 1,190 in 2023, following the fall of Roe, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute.
Trump has equivocated on abortion rights, stating in recent remarks that the federal government should avoid the issue and leave it to the states. But Vice President-elect, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, and conservative supporters have proposed federal action against abortion that could have far-ranging impacts.
The Trump administration doesn’t need Congress to enact nationwide restrictions. It can accomplish that through agencies such as the Justice Department, the Food and Drug Administration and Health and Human Services (HHS); or via the appointment of federal judges, including at the Supreme Court if justices retire, The Light previously reported.
There’s also the possible re-interpretation of the Comstock Act, a 19th-century law that can be applied to prohibit the mailing of any “instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing” that could be used for abortion.
Legal experts are watching for executive action and new guidance Trump might issue once he assumes office that can undo what the Biden administration did to expand and protect access.
“We’re not going to have an administration that, like Harris, is looking to see how to protect and advance,” said Rachel Rebouché, a professor in reproductive health law and dean at Temple University. “If anything, we have an administration looking to keep the status quo, or worse, try to shut down access where it can.”
Under new leadership at the FDA, the agency could rescind recent expansions and again require one of the two pills required for medication abortion or to treat miscarriage, mifepristone, be dispensed in person (and not sent through mail or prescribed via telehealth).
They could go even further and revoke FDA approval for the medication, which has been on the market for more than two decades, for use in abortion.
Medication abortion accounts for most abortions in the country. In Massachusetts, it accounted for about 52% of abortions in 2022, up from about 31% in 2016, per state data. Data for 2023 has not yet been released.
In response to questions on what actions Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell may take to protect abortion access in the state, a spokesperson provided a general statement on the election outcome.
“Donald Trump is our President-elect, and I want to remind constituents that it is essential to recognize the will of the people and support a peaceful transition of power,” Campbell said. “I am also clear-eyed that President-elect Trump has told us exactly what he intends to do as President, and that we need to believe him and to be ready for the challenges ahead.”
“My office is prepared for the threats our residents may face, ready to act and we will not shy away or back down from the critical work ahead,” she continued.
The spokesperson said staff have been identifying possible threats to health care, LGBTQIA+ rights and reproductive rights presented by a Trump administration, and discussing strategies to address them. This could include entering lawsuits against the federal government, or filing amicus briefs or motions in support of litigants in cases across the country.
Mifepristone tablets. Credit: Eleonora Bianchi / The New Bedford Light
Campbell has already done this in response to threats to mifepristone and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, better known as EMTALA.
Dominique Lee, president of the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, on Wednesday said Trump’s re-election is the “greatest threat to reproductive rights we’ve seen in generations.”
“We will do everything in our power to make sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion, contraception, and gender-affirming care, accessible to all who want them,” Lee said.
Planned Parenthood and local organizations, including Health Imperatives, saw opportunities for federal funding dissipate with Trump during his first term.
In addition to abortion care, both organizations provide a spectrum of health services — be it cancer screenings, contraceptives, gender-affirming hormone therapy, or HIV testing — including to low-income people.
In 2019, the Trump administration, through HHS, issued a new rule barring organizations that accept specific federal funding from making abortion referrals.
Julia Kehoe, president of Health Imperatives, in a call Wednesday said she was grateful to be working in Massachusetts, and that she and other advocates remain committed to continuing to provide their services to the community.
Christine Monska, executive director of the Women’s Fund SouthCoast. Credit: Jonathan Leblanc-Unger / The New Bedford Light
Christine Monska, executive director of the Women’s Fund South Coast, said post-election she feels a sense of urgency and that the organization’s work is more important now than ever.
“I believe the results will have a great impact on issues pertaining to women, girls and gender expansive folks,” Monska said. “What we do here locally matters so much.”
Abortion rights was on the ballot in a handful of states on Tuesday, with varied results. Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri and Montana passed measures to undo bans or enshrine abortion rights. But in Nebraska, South Dakota and Florida, similar measures failed.
Trump earned more votes in some of the states where voters also opted to enshrine or expand access to abortion care.
“I think what that means is that those folks don’t necessarily have an appreciation of the way abortion is protected at the federal level,” said Jolynn Dellinger, a lecturer at Duke University School of Law.
“I am concerned about a new head of HHS or the FDA,” she said. “I am concerned about … a potential change with mifepristone. They can withdraw approval, which would affect availability across the entire country.”
In Florida, where Trump cast his ballot Tuesday, voters fell just short of the 60% majority required to enshrine abortion protections in the state’s constitution, meaning the restrictive six-week ban will remain.
Asked by reporters how he voted on the measure, Trump did not answer, eventually telling them to “just stop talking about that.”
