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abortion
How Innovators Are Emotionally Supporting Abortion Seekers in a Post-Roe World
With laws constantly changing and often unclear, being able to reach abortion seekers on an emotional level is a critical touchpoint in the new digital landscape of access.
Jul 10, 2025
In the three years since the Dobbs decision resulted in abortion bans in 42 states across the U.S, the ecosystem of abortion access in America has shifted and stretched to meet the ever-changing moment. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Planned Parenthood vs. Medina has paved the way for even more states to further target abortion providers by enabling states to withhold state funding to clinics that provide sexual health services from sexually transmitted infection tests to cervical cancer screenings simply because they also offer abortion care.
With laws constantly changing and often unclear in the eyes on abortion seekers, being able to reach abortion seekers on an emotional level is a critical touchpoint in the new digital landscape of access. Innovators have stepped up to meet the demand for emotional support, helping individuals feel heard and get informed throughout the abortion process as laws change and stigma abounds. They’re pairing abortion seekers with counselors, peers, and educators as the digital entry point to care, meeting and supporting the actual and immediate needs, whether they are anxious, confused about where to find care, or feeling stigmatized.
With policies currently in Congress that might lead to the closure of even more reproductive healthcare clinics, including services from cancer screenings to STI testing, the need to keep patients informed of how to get the care they want has never been more dire.
We might discuss the emotional journey of an abortion seeker around getting them from confusion and disorientation to understanding and relief, regardless of their choices.
At the same time, Crisis Pregnancy Centers, or fake clinics that pose as counseling centers for pregnant people, persist in their anti-abortion messaging and are funded nationwide at five times the rate of abortion clinics and funds. Through the language of free testing and counseling, they encourage patients to enter illegitimate medical clinics, by talking about abortion decision-making despite the fact that they do not provide it, or any other form of medical care.
Their latest move has been to go digital, expanding their already vast and well-funded footprint into a mobile chat experience that utilizes the language of values-based decision-making and regret avoidance to deter those seeking real support amid a complicated landscape.Their goal is clear: be the first to reach abortion seekers confused by the complex legal landscape when they go online looking for information. They then delay, deter, and redirect them away from real medical care.
The punchline is that their latest innovation is a rip-off. Planned Parenthood’s Chat and Text program has paired website visitors with sex educators for the past 15 years, and the M+A hotline has operated a phone line staffed by doctors and volunteers since 2019. And post-Dobbs, the internet abounds with even more determined activist-innovators. There are comprehensive resource websites for those seeking medication abortion by mail, awareness campaigns, brave providers shielded by their state’s laws, health centers with stronger telehealth capabilities, and abortion doulas and hotlines stitching pieces together with the patient’s needs in mind.
Knowing that most users’ journeys start with a Google search on their mobile devices, it’s important to ensure that emotional support tools are easily accessible in a variety channels like web chat, text, Signal, or WhatsApp, and through completely low-tech options, and ensuring immediate connection to a person who can help no matter how someone prefers to communicate. These crucial organizations engage users compassionately and non-judgmentally. Powered by counselors, volunteers, and care providers, they are digital communities formed to listen, validate, and educate, without pathologizing the user’s emotional state. Engaging emotionally also helps users talk through social and legal stigma, misinformation, and education needs no matter where they live.
Reprocare is a peer phone and textline that offers comprehensive support at every phase of the process including informed landscape navigation for people who need detailed hand-holding and practical support, and the care team sends care packages directly to users who are alone and who express a need for resources and a human touch. Reprocare’s sister company, Autonomie, also builds technology that quickly matches users with abortion funds that help them access care.
Aya Contigo calls their bilingual chat tool “an abortion doula in your pocket,” and it first launched in the U.S. in Spanish, primarily using WhatsApp to reach vulnerable Latino communities. Designed in Venezuela with feminist organizations and 1,000 co-creators, it brings lessons from the Latin American feminist movement to our country, including the tradition of “acompañantes” or accompaniment as a framework. Using bilingual educators on WhatsApp chat and the asynchronous resources on their downloadable app, Aya Contigo ensures patients are never alone, that they have check-ins and follow-ups and are treated gently and compassionately for the days and weeks following their medication abortion.
Exhale Pro Voice is a post-abortion counseling program that offers a non-judgemental support text line for after-abortion support. Exhale also promotes its services for partners, parents, and friends of those who have had an abortion, in order to meet their unique emotional needs and also learn to be a support system for the person in their lives. Exhale is also a crucial resource for counselors, providers, and reproductive health workers seeking a confidential space outside of their work to sustain their well-being, especially important after three years of confusion and challenging, uphill work.
All-Options goes a step further, with a reproductive justice framework that understands that access to abortion has always been inequitable, be it because of location, resources, family, or tradition. Through their talk line, users are given emotional support to understand their access abortion care, and can also speak with a spiritual counselor, access adoption resources, pregnancy resources and infant care support, and a diaper program in their Indianapolis community.
Meeting the emotional impact of bans means considering a reframing of what we could term “the journey map” of an abortion seeker. The Turnaway Study highlights the mental health impact on those denied abortions over a period of 10 years. It elevates an important point: The most common emotion after an abortion is a sense of relief. Framed this way, we might discuss the emotional journey of an abortion seeker around getting them from confusion and disorientation to understanding and relief, regardless of their choices.
Today, researchers are only beginning to track the mental health impact of the Dobbs decision, and recent studies highlight depression and anxiety among women of reproductive age in general. Nearly 25% of women 18-25 years old have had a major depressive episode in the past year, and women of reproductive age in states where abortion is banned report increased anxiety. Further behaviors among young adults post-Dobbs, like increased permanent contraception like tubal ligation and vasectomy in banned states, are proof of the social pressures and sense of personal insecurity, and a lack of bodily autonomy created by bans.
Emotional support is key not just to providing immediate care, but to transforming the abortion access landscape. The coalition building of organizations that prioritize emotional and cultural competency can provide innovative, scalable solutions to a complex societal problem. While funders understand emotional support as a component of the wider access landscape, they don’t always see it as a fulcrum for change and outsize impact. Investing in innovators who have built this direct accompaniment ecosystem, powered by real, caring humans, is vital to maintaining access for critical abortion and reproductive healthcare.
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down 'Archaic' 1849 Abortion Ban
While welcoming the "monumental win," the ACLU of Wisconsin's leader also stressed it's no time to back off the fight. "The political attacks on reproductive justice will not slow down, and we must remain vigilant."
Jul 02, 2025
Rights advocates celebrated Wednesday after the Wisconsin Supreme Court's liberal majority struck down the state's abortion ban from 1849, but campaigners also emphasized that threats to specific healthcare providers and reproductive freedom in general persist.
After the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision nixed nationwide abortion rights, the Badger State's anti-choice movement argued that the old ban, § 940.04(1), was back in effect. However, the Wisconsin top court concluded 4-3 that it is not, pointing to the state Legislature's actions between Dobbs and Roe v. Wade in 1973.
"We conclude that comprehensive legislation enacted over the last 50 years regulating in detail the 'who, what, where, when, and, how' of abortion so thoroughly covers the entire subject of abortion that it was meant as a substitute for the 19th century near-total ban on abortion," Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet wrote for the majority. "Accordingly, we hold that the legislature impliedly repealed § 940.04(1) as to abortion, and that § 940.04(1) therefore does not ban abortion in the state of Wisconsin."
"With this new ruling from our state's highest court, it's time for Wisconsin Republicans to stop forcing their way into our exam rooms."
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin initially stopped providing abortions due to uncertainty over the old ban but resumed care a few months after Dane County Judge Diane Schlipper ruled in July 2023 that "there is no such thing as an '1849 abortion ban' in Wisconsin." Joel Urmanski, Sheboygan County's Republican district attorney, asked Schlipper to reconsider her decision, but she reaffirmed it that December. Urmanski then turned to the state's top court, resulting in Wednesday's ruling.
"Today's ruling is another important step forward in protecting and expanding access to abortion in Wisconsin," Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin said on social media. "Since the overturning of Roe, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has maintained that Wis. Stat. 940.04 could not be enforced against abortion providers. This final ruling again confirms this."
"While we celebrate this ruling, there is more to be done. We will continue essential work to help protect and expand reproductive freedom in Wisconsin so that everyone who needs comprehensive reproductive healthcare in our state can get the nonjudgmental and compassionate care they deserve," the group added, thanking Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul "for their leadership and efforts to protect reproductive freedom in Wisconsin."
BREAKING: We won! In a lawsuit we brought more than three years ago now, the Wisconsin Supreme Court just ruled to protect reproductive freedom in our state and preserve Wisconsinites' access to abortion care.My statement below ⬇️
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— Governor Tony Evers (@govevers.wisconsin.gov) July 2, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Melinda Brennan, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, had a similar reaction to the new decision, saying in a Wednesday statement that "we have been waiting for this moment since the United States Supreme Court overturned our constitutional right and generational expectation to abortion."
"Since then," she said, "pregnant people in Wisconsin have dealt with the catastrophic consequences of having their bodily autonomy stripped from them—including forced pregnancy, denial of critical medical care for pregnancy-related complications like miscarriage, and having to leave home just to get the treatment they need and deserve. Even though that right was restored by lower courts, the fact that the Wisconsin Supreme Court has now rendered the criminal abortion ban unenforceable means Wisconsinites no longer have to fear the archaic 1849 ban could go back into effect."
"With the ban struck down, Wisconsin is a more free and more just place to live," she added. "But that doesn't mean it's time to back down. The political attacks on reproductive justice will not slow down, and we must remain vigilant to make sure everyone who can get pregnant has access to the full range of reproductive healthcare, no matter where in the state they live. Politicians will keep trying to legislate away and restrict our reproductive rights, as well as roll back LGBTQ rights, freedom of expression, and more. While we should celebrate this monumental win, we can't let up."
Great news! The Wisconsin Supreme Court finally struck down an 1849 law that stripped women's rights through a near-total abortion ban. This move protects women's access to medical care and their right to control what happens to their own bodies.
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@pocan.house.gov) July 2, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Lucy Ripp of A Better Wisconsin Together, a progressive research and communications hub affiliated with ProgressNow, responded to the ruling by urging elected Republicans in the state to stop attacking reproductive freedom.
"The Wisconsin Supreme Court's ruling in this case is a historic step forward in protecting and expanding abortion rights in Wisconsin," said Ripp. "We applaud the progressive majority on the court for taking this case and ruling to protect Wisconsinites' right to access abortion care."
"In the face of relentless attacks from Republicans, the vast majority of Wisconsinites have said time and time again that decisions on abortion should be made between a patient and their doctor, not politicians," she declared. "With this new ruling from our state's highest court, it's time for Wisconsin Republicans to stop forcing their way into our exam rooms and finally put an end to their repeated attacks on our access to reproductive healthcare."
The swing state's highest court has attracted national attention in recent years, including with an April election to replace retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who joined Wednesday's majority opinion. This spring, Susan Crawford defeated far-right Brad Schimel, securing liberals' majority until 2028. Crawford is set to be sworn in at the beginning of August.
Because the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision is rooted in state law, SCOTUS cannot reverse it. Reproductive freedom has been restored in Wisconsin … but only for as long as its citizens continue to elect liberal state Supreme Court justices.
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjsdc.bsky.social) July 2, 2025 at 9:56 AM
While the Wisconsin Supreme Court just affirmed the right to abortion in the state, access to such care remains at risk, in part due to recent action at the federal level. This week, Republicans in Congress are working to pass President Donald Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill, which critics call the "Big Ugly Bill" because of provisions including one to "defund" Planned Parenthood by blocking Medicaid payments to abortion providers.
After the U.S. Senate sent the megabill back to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Planned Parenthood Action Fund president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson blasted it as "a backdoor abortion ban," warning that "this bill threatens to close nearly 200 Planned Parenthood health centers and will create devastating gaps in our healthcare infrastructure by putting the full range of reproductive care, like birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatments out of reach for many."
In Wisconsin specifically, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Monday, "it would mean more than half of Planned Parenthood's revenue would vanish. Health centers would close and staff would be laid off, senior leaders have said. And the nearly 1 in 5 Wisconsin residents who are enrolled in Medicaid would no longer be able to receive care at Planned Parenthood."
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'People Will Die,' Warn Progressives as Supreme Court Lets States Defund Planned Parenthood
"This is a systematic decimation of access to reproductive healthcare and a signifier of what else is likely to come," warned one critic.
Jun 26, 2025
In its latest blow to reproductive healthcare in the United States, the Supreme Court's right-wing supermajority on Thursday blocked Planned Parenthood and one of its patients from suing South Carolina over its defunding of the medical provider because it performs abortions—a decision that critics say will cost lives as more Republican-controlled states follow suit.
At question in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic was whether Medicaid beneficiaries can sue in order to secure healthcare services under a law that allows patients to choose any qualified provider. The high court ruled 6-3 that they cannot, with liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting.
"The decision whether to let private plaintiffs enforce a new statutory right poses delicate questions of public policy. New rights for some mean new duties for others," Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority. "And private enforcement actions, meritorious or not, can force governments to direct money away from public services and spend it instead on litigation."
"The job of resolving how best to weigh those competing costs and benefits belongs to the people's elected representatives, not
unelected judges charged with applying the law as they find it," Gorsuch added.
Concurring with the majority, far-right Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the ruling invites further scrutiny of Section 1983, the federal law empowering individuals to sue state and local government officials for violating their constitutional rights.
And, predictably, in Medina, Justice Thomas isn't content to axe Planned Parenthood from Medicaid. He would go further ... "to reexamine more broadly this Court’s §1983 jurisprudence . . . ."This is an invitation to undermine a major foundation of civil rights litigation.
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— Melissa Murray (@profmmurray.bsky.social) June 26, 2025 at 7:17 AM
In a furious dissent, Jackson wrote that "the court's decision today is not the first to so weaken the landmark civil rights protections that Congress enacted during the Reconstruction era."
"That means we do have a sense of what comes next: As with those past rulings, today's decision is likely to result in tangible harm to real people," she continued. "At a minimum, it will deprive Medicaid recipients in South Carolina of their only meaningful way of enforcing a right that Congress has expressly granted to them."
"And, more concretely, it will strip those South Carolinians—and countless other Medicaid recipients around the country—of a deeply personal freedom: the 'ability to decide who treats us at our most vulnerable,'" Jackson added. "The court today disregards Congress' express desire to prevent that very outcome."
More than 70 million Americans rely upon Medicaid, the federal government's primary health insurance program for lower-income people. The program is facing the prospect of major cuts under a Republican budget proposal that critics warn could cause millions of people to lose their healthcare coverage in service to a massive tax break backed by President Donald Trump that would disproportionately benefit the rich and corporations.
According to Planned Parenthood Federation of America president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson, "currently, 20% of South Carolinians—over 1 million—receive healthcare services through the Medicaid program, and approximately 5% of those recipients sought sexual and reproductive health care services at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT) so far this year."
Responding to Thursday's ruling, McGill Johnson said that "the consequences are not theoretical in South Carolina or other states with hostile legislatures."
"Patients need access to birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and more. And right now, lawmakers in Congress are trying to 'defund' Planned Parenthood as part of their long-term goal to shut down Planned Parenthood and ban abortion nationwide," she added. "Make no mistake, the attacks are ongoing and Planned Parenthood will continue to do everything possible to show up in communities across the country and provide care."
Under tremendous Republican-led pressure, Planned Parenthood has closed or announced plans to close at least 20 locations across seven states since the beginning of the year.
"Today's decision is a grave injustice that strikes at the very bedrock of American freedom and promises to send South Carolina deeper into a healthcare crisis," PPSAT president and CEO Paige Johnson said following Thursday's decision. "Twice, justices of this court denied to even hear this case because [South Carolina Gov. Henry] McMaster's intent is clear: weaponize anti-abortion sentiment to deprive communities with low incomes of basic healthcare."
"Planned Parenthood South Atlantic will continue to operate and offer care in South Carolina, including for people enrolled in Medicaid," Johnson added. "To our patients, we will do everything in our power to ensure you can get the care you need at low or no cost to you. Know that we are still here for you, and we will never stop fighting for you to reclaim the rights and dignity you deserve."
Destiny Lopez, co-president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, called the ruling "a grave injustice."
Lopez continued:
At a time when healthcare is already costly and difficult to access, stripping patients of their right to high-quality, affordable healthcare at the provider of their choosing is a dangerous violation of bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom.
Specifically targeting Planned Parenthood has long been a strategy of the anti-abortion movement. Planned Parenthood health centers are an irreplaceable part of the U.S. healthcare system; Guttmacher data show that among the 4.7 million contraceptive patients served by publicly supported clinics in 2020, one in three received care from Planned Parenthood.
"In the face of attempts to 'defund' Planned Parenthood and attack Medicaid, Title X, and other pillars of reproductive healthcare, the court's actions cannot be considered in a vacuum," Lopez asserted. "This is a systematic decimation of access to reproductive healthcare and a signifier of what else is likely to come. Everyone deserves choice in their healthcare provider and access to the family planning they need."
Progressive groups and individuals also condemned Thursday's ruling, with the Freedom From Religion Foundation lamenting that "Christian nationalists win, women and low-income patients lose."
"This isn't justice," FFRF added. "It's religious favoritism at the highest level."
Planned Parenthood provides affordable:➡ Cancer screening➡ STD testing and treatment➡ Prenatal supportToday's decision from SCOTUS to allow SC to remove Planned Parenthood from Medicaid means that people will be sicker and people will die.www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
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— Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (@jayapal.house.gov) June 26, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Meagan Hatcher-Mays, senior adviser at United for Democracy, said in a statement that "millions of Medicaid patients across the country rely on Planned Parenthood health centers for their primary and reproductive care, and people who face systemic racism and discrimination—Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities, as well as LGBTQ+ people and women—are more likely to be covered by Medicaid."
"It's ironic that the MAGA justices issued this ruling today, almost three years to the day that they overturned Roe v. Wade and threw abortion access into chaos across the country," Hatcher-Mays added. "Today's ruling is a further attack on healthcare, bodily autonomy, and our freedoms. This ruling clearly harms communities in South Carolina, and it's a matter of time before we see that harm expand further into the country."
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