IN THIS EPISODE
What are the implications of the Dobbs ruling for people seeking reproductive care across the United States? What kind of burdens will they face if they have to wait days or even weeks to get an abortion? Will this Supreme Court decision result in people having babies they don’t want to have?
To find out, we spoke to Cat Duffy, policy analyst with the National Health Law Program, who works on reproductive and sexual health care access and services with a particular focus on abortion coverage and access.
SHOW NOTES
WE DISCUSS
What are the implications of the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling for women seeking reproductive care across the United States?
“…I just want to acknowledge that it’s actually not just women who need abortion access. It’s anyone who is capable of becoming pregnant. So that includes trans men and non-binary folks. They all need and deserve abortion access, just the same as CIS women. And so the abortion landscape in this post-Dobbs world has sort of been thrown into chaos and will affect people seeking abortion and reproductive health care in every state, not just people who are living in states that have banned abortion….While a lot of…states are doing what they can to enact proactive policies, to expand access in a world where if we end up with half the country restricting access to abortion, it’s an unsustainable burden on these states and the existing provider network.” – Cat Duffy
What was the reality for those seeking access to abortion before Roe vs. Wade was overturned?
“…so people are talking a lot now about how we are in this abortion access crisis, but let’s be super clear. We’ve been in an abortion access crisis for many years. Roe was never enough. It just guaranteed the legal right to abortion, but having a legal right doesn’t mean very much if there’s no access in your state, if there are no providers who actually provide this service, if you don’t have the means to travel far enough to get to that provider. Prior to Dobbs, there were at least six states that only had one abortion provider.” – Cat Duffy
Do you think people will have babies that they don’t want to have?
“Absolutely, the people who have the means, who live in states that have banned abortion, are traveling to seek care, but there are going to be people who aren’t going to be able to afford to travel out of their state or there are young people, minors who won’t be able to travel and there are just going to be people who are going to be forced to carry pregnancies that they do not want to term.” – Cat Duffy
Helpful Links
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Ballotpedia
Roe v. Wade has been overturned. What does that mean for America? Harvard Kennedy School
Four reasons safe abortion is critical health care, International Rescue Committee
‘Hoosier Abortion Access Study’ already shows barriers to abortion services, Indiana Public Radio
California abortion clinics braced for out-of-state surge as bans kick in, The Guardian
Three things to know about health insurance coverage for abortion, National Public Radio
Episode Transcript
Read the full episode transcript!
Cat Duffy Biography
Cat Duffy, PhD, is a Policy Analyst in the National Health Law Program’s Washington, DC office. She works on reproductive and sexual health care access and services, with a particular focus on abortion coverage and access.
Before joining NHeLP, Cat was the Associate Director of Policy and Research at The Hub Project, where she managed the research supporting accountability campaigns on issues such as prescription drug prices, health care coverage, and abortion access. Previously, Cat was a State Policy Manager at Planned Parenthood Federation of America for several years, where she worked on several issues including abortion, telehealth, sex education, and gender-affirming health care access. In this role, she primarily focused on abortion policy, supporting the creation of advocacy strategies to protect and expand abortion access across the country.
Cat Duffy completed her PhD at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Her research agenda focused on health care policy, including issues related to the Affordable Care Act, contraceptive coverage, and Medicaid. Her dissertation was a content analysis of media coverage of the 2017 efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Cat was a COMPASS Fellow during her time at USC, where she spent a summer working at the Department of Health and Human Services. She also has a MA in Political Communication from Wake Forest University and a BA in International Relations from Michigan State University’s James Madison College.
Outside of the office, Cat loves to read (pretty much anything but there’s a special place in her heart for romance and fantasy) and is an avid fan of Survivor.
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