�������ýҕ�l

So this is a little embarrassing, but we may have gotten so carried away trying to pass abortion restrictions that we sort of forgot women could still vote! A mind-fart, for sure! When you are sitting there legislating about someone as though they are not there at all — a someone with no rights the state is bound to respect, neither to control what occurs within the bounds of their own body nor, necessarily, to life, even — you can be forgiven for thinking, “Well, this cannot possibly apply to a large swath of the voting population! This isn’t the kind of law you pass about fellow voters! They would say something, probably!” (Alexandra Petri, 8/3)

Many more states need to follow Kansas’ example. In those dominated by politically opportunistic Republicans currying favor with antiabortion groups, it will be up to the voters to show up and protect a woman’s right to choose. There’s no reason why voters in Kentucky — where a constitutional amendment similar to the one in Kansas is on the November ballot — and in Michigan — where a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights is expected to make the ballot — can’t make their voices heard as loudly and clearly as Kansans just did. And voters in California and Vermont, where abortion rights are secure, can vote in November to enshrine abortion rights into their constitutions. That’s important, too. (8/3)

Too often, election results say more about the conditions of the franchise — who manages to use it, and what information or misinformation they receive along the way — than they do about the character of a place. Not so this time, even as anti-abortion lawmakers and their supporters tried every trick. (Sarah Smarsh, 8/3)

The recent overturn of Roe v. Wade took away a woman’s constitutional right to abortion. But it didn’t take away her right to life-preserving health care, or my right as a physician to provide that care. Pregnancy is a medical condition. As an emergency room physician, I see medical complications that women endure throughout their pregnancies including serious and life-threatening bleeding and ruptured ectopic pregnancies, as well as complications around childbirth like high blood pressure, seizures, heart problems and infections, all of which can pose serious threats to a woman’s life. Pregnancy can also result in lost work and pay for women when complications force them to remain on bed rest, unable to go to work let alone care for other family members. (Dr. Maria C. Raven, 8/3)

At first glance, the US Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade could thrust us back into a world of do-it-yourself abortions that calls to mind gruesome images from decades past of women injuring themselves with sharp objects and ingesting chemicals because safe abortions were inaccessible. But this time it doesn't have to be that way. Thanks to medication abortion -- pills that can be taken in one's home within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy -- at-home abortions can be conducted discreetly and safely. In fact, now, most abortions in the United States are done via medication, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health and rights think tank. (Aziza Ahmed and Ji Seon Song, 8/3)