Prop 5 matters now more than ever

In recent years we’ve had several “I can’t believe it” moments. From a worldwide pandemic to the United Kingdom voting for Brexit, and from the storming of the Capitol in January 2021 to the disbelief when Putin launched his ground war in Europe, there have been too many moments when it seems that the world has gone crazy.

Last week we saw the latest iteration of this trend with the leaked memo from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Roe v. Wade, the landmark court decision that protects a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion, will most likely be overturned in the next few months. Roe has been a right for my entire life and this leaked memo has shaken my faith in the Supreme Court as a pillar removed from partisan politics. But much, much worse, it will be catastrophic for women across the country.

In the U.S., outlawing abortion will most affect marginalized women, including those living in economic poverty, young women, and Black, Indigenous and women of color. These women already face significant barriers accessing abortion care. Outside the U.S., abortion bans have not decreased the number of abortions, but rather increased unsafe abortions, especially affecting women of limited means. In countries across the world there is a relationship between restrictive abortion legislation and increases in maternal mortality and morbidity.

Banning abortion was unconstitutional under Roe. But now that right will fall to individual states, 13 of which have trigger laws, which means that abortion will become illegal as soon as the Supreme Court decision is announced. In some of these states, there is no exception made for cases of rape or incest. This means that some women will be required — by law — to carry a child to term in a country that does not have subsidized child care, paid parental leave or universal health care.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, six in 10 women who have abortions are already mothers, 43 percent of abortions occur in the first six weeks and 92 percent occur in the first 13 weeks, or the first trimester. Some state governments will now require a baby be brought to term and will not guarantee any support.

Thankfully this is not happening in Vermont. We currently have 10 facilities that provide abortion, six of which are clinics. The state performs around 1,200 abortions a year, including for people who travel from other states for care.

In 2019 legislators codified abortion into law with Act 47, meaning that abortion is legal. But laws are relatively easy to change and so that same year some lawmakers began the process of making abortion a right in the Vermont Constitution.

The process of changing the constitution in Vermont is long and deliberate: it requires approval from two state legislatures and a final approval from all voters in a ballot measure. When I studied law, we were taught the basics on this importance: laws can change but the protection offered in constitutions cannot be quickly overturned.

If the Vermont Legislature suddenly flipped — unlikely as that may be — it would be almost impossible for a conservative body to ban the woman’s right to choose.

We are living through history and, personally, I never thought I would see Roe v. Wade overturned in my lifetime. Some critics have said the wording of Proposition 5 is ambiguous. While this may be the case, recent events at the Supreme Court have made it a necessity.

We will be the first state to specifically protect reproductive rights in our state constitution and we should expect a flurry of outside groups and advertising seeking to block Prop 5. Our legislators should move beyond this proposition and consider increased access to care, protection and support to individuals accessing abortion care from out of state.

A woman’s health and right to choose is up on the ballot this November. It is imperative that Vermonters approve this constitutional change.

While Lewis Mudge is a member of the Charlotte Selectboard, this perspective was written in a private capacity.