ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the U.S. Supreme Court's momentous decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and legal and public health consequences of that decision in a post-COVID world. The COVID-19 pandemic provided opportunities to both restrict and expand access to abortion care. During the height of the pandemic, the Supreme Court agreed to hear several cases on abortion rights, ultimately leading to the demise of the constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. This chapter analyzes the Dobbs decision and its impact on state legislatures’ attempts to regulate abortion through criminal, regulatory, and civil penalties during and after the height of the pandemic. This chapter also highlights the public health consequences of overturning Roe during the long tail of the pandemic. The pandemic both exposed and exacerbated health disparities for low income people and people of color. The reversal of Roe v. Wade portends worsening reproductive health disparities among communities already ravaged by the pandemic.
