By Anissa Durham
As Americans come to terms with — and brace themselves for — a second Donald Trump administration, many have an eerie feeling of uncertainty and disappointment. Top of mind for many women is how this will affect already dwindling reproductive rights.
More than two years ago, the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to have an abortion. Supreme Court justices Trump appointed during his first term played a pivotal role in the controversial decision. So, what happens next?
Currently, 13 states have banned abortion, but in two states, Missouri and Arizona, voters passed ballot measures that amends the state constitution to protect reproductive freedom. With no federal standard about abortion care access, states are still allowed to set their own policies to ban or protect abortion care.
Vice President Kamala Harris was outspoken about reproductive freedom and disagreed with overturning Roe. Restoring the reproductive freedoms that Roe provided became a major part of her campaign. The hope around reproductive rights that a Harris-Walz administration offered many women is in stark contrast to what Americans will likely see under a Trump administration.
After Harris lost the election, Black women, reproductive rights advocates, and leaders in abortion access spoke with Word In Black about their fears, concerns, and ultimate hope as the fight continues.
“Today is about mourning the opportunity a Harris administration would have been, as the first woman, first Black woman, the first South Asian woman to be president,” Kelly Blanchard says, president of IBIS Reproductive Health, a global nonprofit research organization that advances sexual and reproductive health. “She was a real champion for sexual and reproductive health rights and justice. We could sort of taste the idea that there would be budgets without funding bans. I’m mourning the fact that we won’t get to see that future as soon as we wanted.”
Trump’s Playbook
Most experts say it’s too early to tell exactly what changes Americans may experience under the incoming Trump administration, but we do have some insight.
Trump said in a March interview he supported a nationwide ban on abortions after 15 weeks’ gestation. Vice President-elect JD Vance has suggested he would support a national law limiting abortion. But recently Vance and Trump have aligned to let states decide. What further abortion bans and restrictions will be imposed is unknown.
Monica Edwards, senior policy manager at Power to Decide, says we can look to Trump’s previous administration and Project 2025 as an indication of what may happen.
The 900-page document proposes restricting and eliminating access to mifepristone, denying access to abortion care in emergency situations. Project 2025 policies would also increase misinformation and disinformation about reproductive health, attack contraception, and eliminate the Department of Education.
“Project 2025 is a real threat of what could come,” Edwards says. “Now that he is president, there is a real fear that this Project 2025 document will now be the playbook used to ban contraception, ban abortion, and ban reproductive health rights and justice broadly.”
Texas, which has one of the most restrictive abortion bans, has already seen an increase in infant deaths since the state’s abortion ban became law on Sept. 1, 2021. ProPublica reported two Texas women died after they faced delays in getting miscarriage care because of the state’s abortion ban. And two Black women died in Georgia because of the state’s abortion ban.
Black women and birthing people have some of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the United States. In 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate for Black women was 49.5 deaths per 100,000 live births compared to 19 for white women and 16.9 for Hispanic women.
“The policies in Project 2025, if implemented, we are going to continue to see people face barriers to all kinds of health care,” Edwards says. “This does have real impact on people’s reproductive well-being … people will continue to struggle to get care, if they can get care at all.”
The Fight Must Go On
Octavia Conner, 41, is a Black woman and mom of four in Atlanta. She is concerned about a woman’s right to choose with Trump back in the White House. She worries that Georgia’s abortion ban could limit the future health care access for her three daughters who are 11, 17, and 20.
“For Black women who are having babies or plan to have babies and some unfortunate event happens, that can be very, very, very scary,” she says. “And I think about that for my girls.”
Conner, a fractional CFO and tax strategist, knows what it’s like to financially struggle as a parent. Initially, she was a single parent for two years with her now 23-year-old son – she credits her grandmother for getting her through that time.
“If you’re forced to take care of a child that you wasn’t prepared to have, it can be very detrimental,” she says. “It can be very, very challenging. And then, with limited help and resources in the economy, it makes it even worse to survive.”
A 2024 report by the Federal Reserve found that parents living with their children younger than 18 experienced a sharp decline in financial well-being in just three years. In 2021, 75% of parents reported doing okay financially, but in 2023, only 64% said the same.
“It’s not the time for me to be emotional or crawl under a rock,” Tamika Smith, 39, from New Orleans, says. “Now is the time to press, press, and press – and continue to stay on the front lines.”
The new administration and its seemingly bold commitment to dismantling all forms of reproductive health care puts women in a difficult situation. At 17, Smith gave birth to her son and had a support system. But for teen parents in communities that are low income, already struggling with lack of resources, education, and accessibility, she worries about what will happen to them under Trump.
“We’re talking about life or death at this point,” she says.
If a teen gets pregnant and is not allowed to make her own decisions or not informed about her options, Smith is worried about what that outcome will be. States are already allowed to decide what kind of comprehensive sexual health care will be taught in schools. 25 states and the District of Columbia mandate both sex education and HIV education, according to the Guttmacher Institute. But only 18 states require program content to be medically accurate.
Living with endometriosis for the last five years, Smith says she doesn’t want her emotions to get in the way of the continued fight for reproductive rights. With any new administration, things will change. And Smith understands how this can increase anxiety and worry for women living with reproductive health care issues, disabilities, and chronic health conditions. But she hopes people will not stop trying.
“I’m hoping that as Black people … we continue to persevere,” she says. “This will be our notation for us to come together, not to be in competition with each other. But to collaborate, to uplift, to support, to encourage. Especially Black women and Black women.”
Resources:
Bedsider provides birth control information, sex tips, and healthy relationship advice.
#AskDr.Raegan is a social media series providing evidence-based, judgment-free information about sexual health directly to young people.
Power to Decide provides trusted, high-quality, accurate information—backed by research—on sexual health and contraceptive methods so young people can make informed decisions.
Here’s Where to go for Better Health Care
This editorial was originally published in Word In Black.
