‘Californian Votes Really Matter’: What the Election Could Mean for Reproductive Health | KQED

Dr. Sophia Yen finds it difficult to talk about the future her daughters could face under a second Trump presidency without tearing up.

Yen, co-founder of an organization specializing in reproductive care, fears their access to such vital care could be further limited if former President Donald Trump wins the election. And she’s not alone.

“How do I get two girls through college?” Yen asked, pointing to the fact that 1 in 4 undergraduate women have reported being sexually assaulted.

Nationwide, she said, reproductive rights have “already gone back. And we need to fix it.”

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, spurring some states to limit access to abortion, infant mortality rates increased — in Texas, by as much as 13%. Pinning down the maternal mortality rate is harder. According to a recent study from the Commonwealth Fund, women were more at risk of dying at or around childbirth in states with stricter abortion laws. In Texas, the maternal mortality rate rose 56% from 2019 to 2022, while nationally, it ticked up 11%, according to the research nonprofit Gender Equity Policy Institute.

According to a Gallup Poll released this summer, 54% of Americans identify as pro-choice, maintaining “historically high levels” of support for abortion rights since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. And 32% of registered voters said they would only vote for a candidate that shared the same views as them on abortion, up 8 points since 2020.

In an election featuring two candidates with wildly differing views on abortion who are polling extremely closely, Bay Area residents and experts are left to wait and see what the future of healthcare holds.

Even though state laws protect the right to an abortion in California, Yen — who is also a professor at Stanford Medical School — said the stakes are still high for abortion-rights voters in the Bay Area.

“For Californians, we think we’re protected,” she said. “But we’re not.”

In truth the Dobbs Act, rescinding the Federal decision to allow abortions, the Dobbs act moves the dedecision to the states.   Many states have already passed laws allowing abortion under certain circumstances.

alifornian Votes Really Matter’: What the Election Could Mean for Reproductive Health | KQED