“Communities marginalized by racial discrimination and oppression also face barriers in accessing healthcare, which severely and negatively impacts these communities. Indigenous Americans experience statistically worse healthcare outcomes than other populations in the US and already had difficulty accessing abortion long before Dobbs. The same is true for Black Americans, who have always faced high barriers to accessing healthcare. Hence, individuals who belong to more than one marginalized group, such as rural Black Americans, face especially high barriers. Access to abortion — and indeed to quality healthcare — has never been equitable for persons from marginalized communities in the US. Dobbs exacerbates many of these inequities by, for example, requiring individuals to travel farther for care and often out of state. Women of color are more likely to fall below the poverty line than white women and therefore feel the costs of interstate travel for healthcare particularly acutely. They are also less likely to have paid time off or paid sick leave to allow for travel, and face additional discrimination to obtain necessary healthcare.”
HC