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DC abortion laws and new administration

Updated: Nov 28




by: Diana Belanger


As we steel ourselves for a new administration, a conservative legislature, and a conservative

judiciary, the abortion laws in Washington, D.C. could be at significant risk. Currently, D.C. has

the authority through city council to create its own laws - including the city’s abortion policies

and protections. However, due to the increasing momentum among conservative lawmakers

and judicial appointments aimed at restricting abortion access, there’s the potential for federal

intervention in restricting abortion access or banning abortion care altogether.

Although Dobbs outright overturned federal protections for abortions and returned the power to

the states, the ruling did not address the unique status that D.C. has. Without Statehood, and

given that D.C. law is subject to federal oversight as a result, a new conservative congress

could attempt to impose restrictions in the capital. Congress has restricted access to abortion

care in D.C. before by imposing provisions like the “Hyde Amendment” which prohibits federal

funds from being used for abortion care except in the cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life

of the mother.

D.C. has served as an abortion care haven for states with severe restrictions or all-out bans,

especially for those seeking care from the US’s southern states. Washington, D.C. currently has

the one of the highest number of non-residents seeking abortion care at over 50%, with the

second and first highest being Texas-neighboring states Kansas and New Mexico at 69% and

71%, respectively. In 2023 alone, over 170,000 individuals had to travel to receive abortion care.

This Congressional oversight possibility has local advocacy groups ringing alarm bells. Melissa

Wasser, who serves as policy council for ACLU of D.C., stating, “Congress does get to review

all of our legislation, and if they so choose, and if they have the numbers, they could restrict or

even ban abortion in D.C., and local legislators would just kind of have to go with it unless we're

made a state”.

Given the makeup of the Supreme Court, the upcoming administration, our shift to a

conservative congress, and the broader political agenda to restrict abortion access, abortion

rights in the District remain precarious.

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