Parole and probation laws restrict travel. This can be complicated for people seeking an abortion. • Voice of Oklahoma

In the two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, the number of patients forced to obtain out-of-state abortion services has doubled. Fourteen states have banned abortion altogether, three more restrict abortion after six weeks – before most people realize they are pregnant – and two others restrict it after the first trimester.

One population often left out of conversations about reproductive rights are people on community supervision, also known as probation and parole, which often prohibits travel across state lines without government approval. A new briefing from the Prison Policy Initiative’s public policy think tank puts these challenges in the context of a country without Roe.

PPI analysis shows that approximately 800,000 women in the U.S. are on parole or probation. Probation is when an inmate is serving a sentence outside of jail or prison but is still under legal supervision and restrictions. Parole is a similar concept, but is available to someone who has served time in prison and is released early if they follow strict rules.

These conditions may include high fees, curfews, job requirements, travel restrictions and meetings with a probation or parole officer. Every state and Washington, D.C., restricts the movement of people under community supervision. Violating these restrictions may result in jail time.

Fifty-three percent of women on parole or probation live in 21 states where abortion restrictions are established earlier than fetal viability, which is typically around 22 to 25 weeks. As a result, according to the PPI briefing, only 1 in 6 women on parole or probation can access abortion services at any stage of pregnancy without requiring a permit to cross state lines.

“I would say it’s exponentially more difficult for people on community supervision because they literally have to ask permission from probation officers or the court to cross state lines,” said Wendy Sawyer, research director of the Prison Policy Initiative. “You have to provide really detailed information about your itinerary, which means you’re leaving access to abortion care to people who shouldn’t have a say in the decision.”

The PPI briefing does not provide specific information about transgender and non-binary people who may become pregnant. Data sources such as U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics often do not specifically mention LGBTQ+ people.

In three states with some of the strictest abortion bans in the country, large percentages of women are under community supervision. According to PPI data, Texas, Florida and Georgia have a combined 227,801 women on parole or probation, representing nearly thirty percent of women on community supervision nationwide.

Texas first banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy with SB 8 in 2021. The following year, after Roe was overturned, the state banned the procedure almost entirely, except to save the life of the pregnant person. Last year, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld a six-week abortion ban, and Florida’s six-week ban went into effect in May. Most southern states have full or six-week abortion bans, leaving southerners with few options for care.

“This is devastating. It doesn’t surprise me at all that the same states that consistently restrict people’s health care are the same states that have the highest rates of social surveillance of women in their state. This is not a coincidence,” said Kylee Sunderlin, director of legal services at If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, a reproductive health legal advice and support organization that operates the Repro Legal Hotline.

Sunderlin oversees the hotline and receives calls from people on parole or probation.

“Every day when I use the hotline, my main goal for people is: ‘How can I help reduce the harm?’ “How can I share information so you feel best equipped to make the right decision for you and your family?” Sunderlin said. “I feel incompetent in these particular scenarios because there is no harm reduction or risk mitigation. I feel completely helpless.”

Access to abortion medications is also unequal. Last week, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed a case limiting access to the abortion pill. Some health care providers mail the pills to people in states with bans, but this is not widely available to everyone who may want it.

The demographic of women who are disproportionately affected by abortion restrictions across the country – low-income women and women of color, especially Black women – are also more affected by incarceration and criminalization. Another PPI report based on 2019 data found that 70 percent of women on parole and 65 percent of women on parole make less than $20,000 a year.

People in states with near-total bans can do little to officially request travel for an abortion. In Texas, for example, many cities and counties have implemented bans restricting people from traveling out of state for the procedure. Even in states that allow abortion up to a point, pregnant women under community supervision face delays in obtaining approval to travel.

Depending on location, people on parole or probation must submit a travel request 10 days to four weeks in advance of travel. One of the application forms for travel to Nebraska, which has a 12-week ban, includes information about departure and return dates, method of travel, destination and lodging address. Additionally, the dozens of states that allow abortion have mandatory waiting periods and require consultation before getting it. This means that pregnant women must either stay overnight at the place where the abortion will be performed or return for a second or third time.

These restrictions may put people on probation or parole in difficult situations: their travel applications may be rejected or they may be at risk of violating travel consent parameters.

“Black bodies are certainly being surveilled and attacked, and that is the history and the foundation on which this country is built,” said Kamyon Conner, executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund. “At TEA Fund, we believe that abortion bans are racist for a reason, because they know the communities and people they target, and it is intentional. It’s another way of controlling what we do with our bodies, where we move with them, and how they can track our bodies.”

This article was originally published by The 19th.