The Center for Reproductive Rights Releases 2007 "What if Roe Fell?" Report. In research conducted for the Center by Lake Research Associates, Americans say they want abortion to remain a federally protected right. Their support for Roe is clear. And they recognize that Roe is threatened.

What they don't seem to know is what would happen if the decision were overturned, how vulnerable many of them would be to losing their right to legal abortion, depending on what state they live in.

The poll found that:

Americans believe that Roe v. Wade is vulnerable under the current Supreme Court, but at the same time are largely unaware of legislative efforts underway at the state level to further undermine Roe.

The majority of Americans doesn't know what abortion laws exist in their state and tend to believe their state is supportive of abortion rights.

Seven in 10 Americans agree that government should not interfere with medically necessary procedures prescribed by health care professionals, including abortions.

The majority of voters favors their state making changes in the law to further protect a woman's right to abortion.

But this is what is really happening:

Anti-choice activists have introduced a new two-pronged strategy. First, they advance immediate bans that are designed to create a vehicle for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe. At the same time, they are pushing a new weapon—bans-in-waiting—which lay the foundation now for abortion to be criminalized immediately after Roe is overturned. These bans would criminalize abortion the instant Roe is overturned. Because they are not immediate, they generate few challenges when introduced or enacted, but their potential impact is extraordinary.

21 States at High Risk to outlaw abortion if Roe is overturned: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

9 States at Moderate Risk: Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

20 States Likely to Protect abortion rights in the advent of a Roe reversal: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Seven of the 10 poorest states in the nation are highly likely to ban abortion within a year of a Roe reversal: two of these states, Mississippi and Louisiana, have already enacted bans-in-waiting. Banning abortion will have the most devastating impact on low-income women—who often struggle just to secure the resources to pay for an abortion. Notably, many of the poorest states also contain large populations of color. In a post-Roe world, poor women and poor women of color will have the most difficulty obtaining an abortion.

In the last three years, we’ve seen the states introduce the largest number of bills to ban abortion in all stages of pregnancy since the early 1990s. Seventeen states have introduced 38 bans—bans-in-waiting and immediate bans.

The bottom line? Don't be lulled into a false sense of security. The anti-choice forces, even though they represent a 30% minority, are actively chipping away at women's right to choose. And to me choice is all about women's rights - beginning with the right to determine whether and when and if to have children. If we can't decide that, then what other fundamental rights will be decided for us?

Please keep informed. Waking up one day to realize that you have lost a basic right without even realizing you were in danger of losing it, is not OK.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen