Umm, Yes, The "Roe" Decision is a Problem for Black People

The perception that the recent Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade isn't a Black community issue is not only very problematic ... it's incorrect

Publisher’s Riff

Endless media coverage, at the moment, over the recent Supreme Court decision overturning the less than 50-year “Roe vs. Wade” ruling will zoom in on the plight of White women. We’ll see this in terms of protests, activists, experts and policymaker response. It will be, round-the-clock illustrations of White women’s grievance on the issue. Hence, that gives the impression to the larger viewing and listening public that the SCOTUS decision in Dobbs v. Jackson is primarily a White people’s issue. Very little coverage or expert analysis will focus in on the perspective of Black women and other women “of color” such as Latinas or how marginalized moderate-to-low income women are impacted.

Racism, of course, drives that coverage. Ironic is how a majority of White women voters - as we’re occasionally reminded - supported Trump in both 2016 and 2020 elections and continue supporting the Republican candidates and elected officials who create policy that’s hostile to women. More unfortunate is how the bias in coverage will even leave certain Black audiences themselves (along with certain influencers or thought leaders) to ascertain that it’s not much of a Black issue, simply because we’re not seeing Black women and other non-White women as omnipresent in news coverage on the topic.

Yet, this latest ruling profoundly and dangerously impacts Black women and Black communities on numerous levels.

Black women are more likely than White women, Hispanic women and others to access abortion services, as research from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds: 38 percent of all abortions in the United States involve Black women …

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As the Associated Press reports …

If you are Black or Hispanic in a conservative state that already limits access to abortions, you are far more likely than a white person to have one.

And if the U.S. Supreme court allows states to further restrict or even ban abortions, minorities will bear the brunt of it, according to statistics analyzed by The Associated Press.

When it comes to the effect on minorities, the numbers are unambiguous. In Mississippi, people of color comprise 44 percent of the population but 81 percent of women receiving abortions, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks health statistics.

In Texas, they’re 59 percent of the population and 74 percent of those receiving abortions. The numbers in Alabama are 35 percent and 69 percent. In Louisiana, minorities represent 42 percent of the population, according to the state Health Department, and about 72 percent of those receiving abortions.

Places where abortion bans are being pushed and imposed are places with the highest concentrations of Black populations in the U.S., as well. Maps where abortion bans are in effect or where they will soon as a result of Dobbs layer over maps showing higher Black population concentrations …

When looking at the 10 states with the highest Black residential percentages, 60 percent of those states (in bold below) have abortion bans, with an additional state’s abortion access future (Virginia) still uncertain …

1. Mississippi (39 percent)

2. Louisiana (34 percent)

3. Maryland (31.55%)

4. Georgia (31 percent)

5. Alabama (27 percent)

6. South Carolina (26 percent)

7. Delaware (23 percent)

8. North Carolina (22 percent)

9. Virginia (21 percent)

10. New York (18 percent)

It’s inconceivable to imagine how the recent Dobbs ruling does not impact or make a difference to Black communities, given the residential demographics, and how these bans in legacy slave-holding Confederate states do not further criminalize the activities and personal health decisions of Black people in those states. Additionally, Black maternal mortality rates are already the highest among all demographic groups. Despite what the word “abortion” indicates, it’s really about reproductive healthcare. Black women, particularly in the states banning abortions, are most likely to utilize or access other services such as contraceptive care, pre-natal care, sexually transmitted infection (STI) screenings or care and the full range of essential reproductive and OBGYN care. As stateline reports …

In a country that has long lagged its peers in maternal mortality, many reproductive health providers warn that stricter abortion laws are likely to make the situation worse—especially for Black women, who die of pregnancy-related causes at nearly three times the rate of White women.

“Doctors have said it puts them in an untenable position where they have to base decisions on their legal liability, which shouldn’t be a consideration at all,” said Shaina Goodman, director for reproductive health and rights at the National Partnership for Women and Families. “At what point is the life of the mother at risk, when she’s coding on the table?”

Several scientific studies in the past two years have noted that abortion bans will likely increase maternal mortality. A University of Colorado study in 2021, for example, found that a total ban on the procedure could increase pregnancy-related deaths up to 21 percent overall and up to 33 percent for Black women.

Already, some doctors say the inflammatory nature of the abortion issue has compelled them to provide care they regard as less than optimal.

What’s equally problematic is that medical racism impacting Black and other non-White populations is already high. This is a major driver of high Black maternal mortality rates, which show no signs of easing …

Not only does a decision like this further restrict Black women in need to critical healthcare, but it also leaves them vulnerable to poor decisions from medical providers who will now be even more inclined to not provide adequate care. Compounding that is the lack of social service supports from these same states where abortion bans will be instituted. Even if abortion bans force Black women to have more babies, and that constitutes an increase in the Black infant population, these same states will continue to provide fewer resources and supports for an already over-stressed and overburdened Black population. The debate over the future of reproductive rights should be an opportunity to open the door further on a needed discussion on the plight of Black maternal care and how we figure out ways to protect Black women from continued systemic violence.