In 2025, the steadily increasing threat of abortion criminalization is becoming dire in the United States, with more people potentially in the crosshairs. Since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade—ending the constitutional right to abortion and allowing individual states to ‘regulate’ or ban it outright—at least 210 pregnant people have been charged with crimes related to pregnancy, pregnancy loss, or birth. This number continues to grow at an alarming rate. [1] This trend reflects the shifting landscape of reproductive rights, where anti-abortion leaders and lawmakers have leveraged the criminal legal system to target those experiencing a range of pregnancy outcomes.

A significant driver in the rise in criminalization is the growing influence of fetal personhood laws, which are used to grant fetuses legal protections that often supersede the rights of the pregnant person themselves. These laws erode reproductive autonomy and create dangerous legal precedents that punish individuals for pregnancy outcomes, regardless of circumstance. [2] As these laws gain traction and their enforcement becomes more aggressive, the threat of criminalization looms larger, demanding urgent action to protect the rights and dignity of all pregnant people.

The rise of criminalization is not only being carried out through the criminal legal system, but directly by anti-abortion leaders and groups. They seek to intimidate and criminalize patients and even those who assist abortion seekers. Kristan Hawkins, the president of the national anti-abortion group Students for Life of America, has publicly claimed that her organization opposes the criminalization of pregnant people. [3] Though she is now positions herself in opposition to them, in 2014, Kristan referred to herself as an “abortion abolitionist,” a name for people who seek to end abortion access under any and all circumstances. [4, 5] One such figure is their former national spokesperson, Autumn Higashi (previously known as Autumn Lindsey), who during her tenure with Students for Life of America but prior to assuming that role stated on camera to Reproaction staff, “If a woman kills a child outside the womb, then I think that she should be prosecuted for that. So, if a woman kills a child inside the womb, then I don’t think that there’s any difference.” With statements like these it is difficult to believe that criminalization is not an unintended consequence of their anti-abortion activism, but rather a deliberate strategy in the anti-abortion agenda.

We have begun to see this strategy play out more frequently in the mainstream. The state of Texas has sued a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a pregnant person in Texas [6]. This doctor should theoretically be protected by New York’s shield law. Shield laws exist in some states where abortion remains legal and are designed to protect abortion providers, helpers, and seekers from legal attacks undertaken by anti-abortion actors in states where abortion is illegal or restricted. [7] The same New York provider was charged criminally in Louisiana for prescribing abortion pills and sending them by mail. [8] While the state of New York has said they refuse to turn the doctor over to the state of Louisiana, these lawsuits represent the first test of these shield laws which may fail to protect providers who are doing what they can to expand abortion access. [6,8]

Additionally, anti-abortion groups have been advocating for the use of the Comstock Act, an antiquated 1800s law that bans the mailing of “obscene matter and articles used to produce abortion.” [9] Depending on its implementation, this law could be relied upon by the Trump administration to effectively ban abortion nationwide as well as criminalize the mailing of abortion-related materials, including pills. [9] Students for Life of America is one of the primary organizations pushing for the use of the Comstock Act, all while publicly claiming to oppose criminalizing women. [10] Their rhetoric conveniently ignores the natural consequences of their actions and arguments: when providers face legal threats and restrictions, access to care diminishes, forcing people seeking to end pregnancies into sometimes desperate and dangerous situations. Whether through legal penalties, surveillance, or deterrence, the end result of their advocacy is the same —people who need abortions are denied lifesaving health care.

As anti-abortion leaders and groups gain power and influence over legislatures, the threat of widespread criminalization of abortion care becomes increasingly pressing. This escalation does not only target providers; it extends to those seeking care, legal advocates, and even friends and family offering support. The chilling effect of these policies could put anyone working to access or protect reproductive healthcare risks at risk of criminalization. Despite claims to the contrary, the broader anti-abortion movement is actively fueling an agenda that strips people of autonomy and criminalizes reproductive decision-making at every level.

Sources:

1. https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/post-dobbs-pregnancy-criminalization/
2. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/25/states-using-fetal-personhood-laws-to-criminalize-mothers
3. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/two-pro-life-women-say-no-prosecuting-women-abortions
4. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/the-anti-abortion-movement-is-splintering/
5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/two-va-woman-central-figures-in-antiabortion-resurgence/2014/01/21/8cfcd21e-7ef9-11e3-95c6-0a7aa80874bc_story.html
6. https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/13/politics/texas-new-york-abortion-pill-lawsuit/index.html
7. https://evidence.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/EVIDra2200280#:~:text=Shield%20laws%20contain%20provisions%20that,prosecution%20that%20tries%20to%20impose
8. https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pills-new-york-hochul-12dc697d30967808aed9c3e4db2b1ff2
9. https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-comstock-act-implications-for-abortioncarenationwide/#:~:text=The%20Comstock%20Act%20%E2%80%93%20an%201873,to%20sharply%20restrict%20abortion%20nationwide.
10. https://studentsforlife.org/2024/06/26/dont-be-misled-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-comstock-act/