On this month's cover, members of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) rally in support of women's health care. In a June statement issued in response to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, NYSNA president Nancy Hagans, BSN, RN, CCRN, said, "This legal decision will deeply impact marginalized communities, especially women and people of color. . . . As a union predominantly of women, we understand how important it is to make your own reproductive choices. Economic, social, and reproductive justice are inextricably linked, and we must all do our part to fight for these rights."
With the legal right to abortion now up to the states to decide, the health care implications of overturning Roe will vary dramatically across the country. At least 17 states have banned or severely restricted abortion-with others likely soon to follow-while other states have bolstered access to it. Some states, like New York and California, are also taking measures to accommodate a surge in people coming from other states to seek abortion care. Additionally, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington State have all recently passed laws allowing more types of health care workers to perform abortions; among them, depending on the state, are NPs, nurse midwives, and advanced practice RNs.
See this month's AJN Reports, "Abortion Care in America," for a close look at how the Supreme Court's decision will affect pregnant people and health care providers. Also read the Historical Feature, "A Long History of Abortion," in which AJN senior editor Corinne McSpedon contextualizes abortion within the nation's past, drawing upon AJN's archives-going as far back as 1900-to reveal nurses' role in this history.-Diane Szulecki, editor