Citation

Slavin MN, West BS, Levin FR, El-Bassel N. J. Subst. Use Addict Treat. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.josat.2023.209052

PMID

37105267

Abstract

The Supreme Court's ruling to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade verdict represents a major setback for women's reproductive freedoms in the United States. This ruling revokes constitutional protection for abortion rights and returns the decision to the states. Since this ruling in June 2022, numerous states have adopted total or near total abortion bans, with many of these bans offering no exception for rape, incest, or nonfatal maternal health risks. Legal experts also warn that this ruling can open the door to restrict contraceptive rights previously protected under the same implied constitutional right to privacy as abortion. Already, this decision has increased momentum for states to place restrictions on specific forms of contraception. Certain groups of women will be disproportionately harmed by these bans, such as women with substance use disorders (SUDs). Women with SUDs face unique barriers to sexual and reproductive health services that exist at the structural level (e.g., criminalization; costs and accessibility), interpersonal level (e.g., higher rates of intimate partner violence) and individual level (e.g., reduced reproductive autonomy). These synergistic barriers interact to produce lower contraceptive use, increased unintended pregnancy rates, and subsequently a greater need for abortion services among this population. This ruling will exacerbate the effects of these barriers on women with SUDs, resulting in even greater difficulties accessing contraceptive and abortion services, and ultimately increasing rates of criminalization among pregnant and parenting women with SUDs. This commentary describes these barriers and highlights potential advocacy steps that are urgently needed to assist reproductive-aged women with SUDs during these challenging times when essential health services are increasingly inaccessible.

Language: en

Keywords

Substance use disorders; Roe v. Wade; Sexual and reproductive health