or 50 years, most Americans believed the right to an abortion was settled law. Most Americans also think that equal protection, as ruled by Brown v. Board Why worry about a right that’s been accruing precedent since James Monroe was president? “Because states like Missouri and Oklahoma have already tried to pass laws that attempt to exert jurisdiction over you and your provider wherever you are,” Newsum says. “They are trying to extend state laws beyond their borders.” That, Newsum says, makes her wonder why, for example, states where cannabis is illegal have not tried to pass laws preventing their residents from traveling to Colorado to smoke weed. “It’s a concern,” she says, “that Americans could lose the right to travel freely, simply because some people want to exert control over women and don’t want them to travel to receive what should be considered basic health care. It hasn’t happened yet, but it could.”
