Us & Them: What’s Next For Abortion?

There’s a fresh slate of legislative agendas in the new year and some include efforts to chip away at reproductive rights and access to abortion, even in states that have recently passed constitutional abortion rights ballot measures. On this episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay looks at what’s ahead after a record number of initiatives passed in November. There’s a lot that conservative legislatures and courts can do to limit the voter-approved amendments. While legal maneuvering continues, the number of abortions in the U.S. is at its highest level in more than a decade thanks to the increased use of abortion pills and travel across state lines. Abortion opponents want President Donald Trump to enforce a 19th Century law they say will stop abortion pills through the mail. Meanwhile, abortion-friendly states are using shield laws to protect their telehealth abortion providers from criminal prosecution for providing abortion pills to women in states with bans. The U.S.’s inconsistent abortion laws are pitting states against each other, and state governments against their citizens.