EXCERPT
Big questions exist about how individual states would navigate their differing designations, and how abortion would be prosecuted or protected if a resident of one state travels to another for the procedure. The already chasmic political and social rifts among Americans could widen even more.
“While states have been legislating abortion differently for years, Roe maintained a minimum level of abortion legality, if not practical access, that applied across states,” said Kathleen Marchetti, Ph.D., an associate professor of political science at Dickinson College. “Should Roe be overturned in part or in its entirety, anti-abortion states may go further by attempting to regulate state residents’ access to abortion across state lines. This raises constitutional questions about states’ ability to impose their own laws across state lines.”
Beyond the purely economic impact, experts say the true cost of denying women abortions is far greater—and less easy to tally or quantify. Arin Reeves, Ph.D., a Chicago-based author and founder of the workplace-culture research and advisory firm Nextions, worries about the cumulative emotional toll on women, pregnant or not.
“Feeling devalued by our country and its laws has an incalculable impact on women’s mental health and wellness, and will be experienced by women way beyond any reproductive choices they need to make,” Reeves said.