Abortion rights are taking a hit amidst the COVID-19 crisis

Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) and lawyer Gloria Allred outside the Supreme Court, 1989

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Tatiana Škultétyová highlights one of the knock-on effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

As governments all over the world are working day and night to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s only natural that other issues are taking a back seat. However, some politicians are using the fact that everyone’s attention is on coronavirus to inconspicuously push through their agendas. For instance, in Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has passed a law allowing the government to restrict free speech by punishing “fake news” with up to 5 years of prison. However, smaller acts of promoting personal political agendas are happening in a variety of countries, and one of the issues that is most affected is the question of abortion rights. 

Slovakia’s recently elected and seemingly quite conservative government has had people waiting to see whether the issue of abortion will be addressed, but few would expect it to be brought up right now. As part of the measures taken to combat the current crisis, all non-essential health care services have been suspended. What is problematic, however, is that Marek Krajčí, a Minister of Health known for conservative views, has declared abortion non-essential. This has led to a wave of criticism from civil rights protectors warning that abortions are essential, and that their suspension intrudes upon women’s rights. The Ministry of Health’s own expert on gynaecology and obstetrics has seconded the view and said that hospitals should be obligated to administrate abortions even throughout the epidemic. Despite these recommendations, it does not seem likely that abortions will be reclassified as essential any time soon.

It’s not just this small central European country taking such measures - a battle over abortions has also erupted in the US. This is a particular issue in Texas, but states like Ohio, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Alabama are considering following suit. It is no coincidence that states adopting such policies are predominantly conservative and have been looking at banning or at least restricting abortions for quite some time. Similar to Slovakia’s case, abortions were deemed non-essential, but Texas’ State Attorneys are also using the situation to expand the states’ powers to ban abortions. This would mean an overriding of the 1973 Roe v. Wade legislation, which legalised abortion in the United States and only grants states the power to regulate the use of abortion, not to ban it outright. It brings forward the question of whether opinion has shifted so significantly that we will start seeing states asking for more authority on this matter. 

Regardless, a temporary ban can still be devastating for abortion clinics. Due to the US private healthcare system, the closure of these clinics is costing them valuable funds and it’s unclear how long they can survive without patients coming in. It’s already a difficult task to secure an abortion in states like Texas with extensive prerequisites, including a 24-hour waiting period within 100 miles of a clinic. With an already limited number of clinics, the potential bankruptcy of further healthcare clinics due to the coronavirus crisis would pose yet another obstacle to women trying to terminate a pregnancy. Having to travel far can be almost impossible for those without the financial means, arguably those who seek legal abortions the most. 

Even amidst the global pandemic, we cannot lose track of governments’ actions and let personal or partisan agendas go unnoticed, especially when regarding issues as important as women’s reproductive rights. 

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