Tuesday, November 4th, 2024, is rapidly approaching.
While most people are eager to watch the second presidential debate when Vice President Harris will face off against former President Trump on September 10th, 2024, some of us are concerned about what this election means for our health. As previously reported, Black women increasingly believe that this year’s election is more important than before, as not only our autonomy and democracy are at stake, but so is our health.
According to a recent survey from the Black Women in America national poll conducted by the Highland Project and Brilliant Corners Research and Strategies, 71 percent found that 71 percent of Black women voters said this is the most crucial election of their lifetime. Although racism and discrimination are also top issues for 94 percent of Black women, in addition to criminal justice reform, protecting Social Security and Medicare, fighting inflation, and lowering the cost of goods, we are also gravely concerned with our healthcare system, which has failed us before.
Our community of mothers often suffers from or is exposed to the Black maternal health crisis as Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women, according to the CDC. Several factors contribute to these disparities: lack of quality healthcare, underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias.
While we’re hoping that both administrations prioritize Black women’s wellness, the Harris administration is primed to build on their plans to drive maternal health equity and address racial and ethnic disparities, such as the disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality among Black women, according to the Commonwealth Fund. The Biden–Harris administration previously made progress in closing the maternal health gap by growing the maternal health workforce and launching the maternal mental health hotline.
In June 2022, the United States Supreme Court voted to overturn overturned Roe v. Wade with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, eliminating the federal right to abortion, which led to women across the United States to be frightened about the lack of their bodily autonomy and futures. Now, as a result, abortion and the ability to receive contraception, given the blocking of the 2024 Right to Contraception Act, are hot-button topics. So, how could the election affect access to abortion and other reproductive health care services?
EMTALA: Solidifying and continuing the Emergency abortion care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). The Biden–Harris administration affirmed that abortions are appropriate for patients with emergency medical conditions under EMTALA.
Medication abortions: Although the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, the Supreme Court was able to preserve access to mifepristone, which is used along with misoprostol for medication abortions. If Trump is elected, his administration may direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reverse its approval of the drug combination for abortions or issue policies that restrict access to medication abortions.
The removal of accessible contraception: Although Harris’s administration could continue to strengthen access to contraception given the overturning of Roe, a Trump White House may weaken or altogether remove Affordable Care Act policies that cover contraception (including emergency contraception).