To the Editor:

“What It Takes to Get an Abortion in the Most Restrictive State in the U.S.” (news graphic, July 23) poignantly demonstrates just how hard it is to get an abortion in Mississippi. But it’s not just Mississippi (or Texas or Arkansas): Six states are down to only one abortion clinic, under constant threat of closing by ideologically motivated politicians.

Today, a woman who lives in any of the 29 states considered “hostile” or “extremely hostile” to abortion rights or in one of 27 “abortion deserts” must travel long distances, be forced to delay care or listen to state-mandated misinformation. And things are getting worse: In the first quarter of 2018, 308 new abortion restrictions were introduced in 37 states.

If a Supreme Court nominee hostile to abortion rights is confirmed and the court fails to stand against the rising tide of restrictions and bans, abortion could be pushed entirely out of reach for women across the country, even without explicitly overturning Roe v. Wade. The stakes could not be higher.

Jennifer Dalven
New York
The writer is director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Reproductive Freedom Project.