Low-Income Women Are Disproportionately Impacted by the Human Life Protection Act

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Abortion is an essential part of reproductive health care, yet, low income women have trouble accessing reproductive healthcare, especially abortions. Lower income women face trouble when trying to access reproductive healthcare due to compounded barriers in their path, which are exacerbated by abortion restrictions (Borchelt). Reproductive rights are not a matter of abstract theory, and segments of the population must be considered in regards to existing social and economic conditions. Therefore, conditions concerning poverty must be integrated into discussions addressing reproductive health policy (Berkeley 322). Several states’ newly-passed anti-abortion laws place restrictions on abortions between 6 to 28 weeks of pregnancy (Bai). Alabama had the strictest constraints in nearly banning abortions through the Human Life Protection Act, which disproportionately impacts low income women due to barriers such as transportation accessibility, cumulative costs of abortions, insurance coverage, and accessibility to affordable and quality reproductive healthcare. 

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