'This is absolutely terrifying—and further underscores that efforts to ban abortion are solely about controlling our bodies,' RepJayapal says of a warning that reversing Roe v. Wade will lead to 'overcriminalization and mass incarceration.'
that"this is absolutely terrifying—and further underscores that efforts to ban abortion are solely about controlling our bodies."The NACDL leader explained that people who have or assist with abortions could face prison time with mandatory minimum—and possibly even life—sentences. As she put it:"We're not talking about just fines like a traffic ticket. We're talking about serious consequences in this country.
"Whenever you have laws that lead to rampant overcriminalization, you stretch your resources," she said."So rich people will always be able to lawyer up. They will always have access to attorneys. They will always be able to have that advice that you should have at the front end." "Poor people will be left behind. I don't get a lawyer if I'm poor until I'm actually charged with a crime in this country in most jurisdictions, so I have to wait to that moment until I get charged," she continued."If I have money, if I have access to counsel, I get advice on the front end of being able to perhaps avoid the consequences that I would face if I didn't have money.
the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute, at least 26 states"are certain or likely to ban abortion withoutThe NACDL document also highlights that"proposed anti-abortion legislation disproportionately impacts poor women, Black women, and other women of color, highlighting the deeply sexist, racist, and classist nature of the recent and proposed new anti-abortion laws, and the manner in which such laws will contribute to the problem of systemic racism and classism within the criminal legal...