Interstate Travel Bans Could Definitely Happen

The overturn of Roe v. Wade signals a sea change in Constitutional law and hence the security of all of our Constitutional rights. If you don’t believe that, look up Clarence Thomas’ views on freedom of the press, which is only one step away from freedom of speech: two of our most cherished and important rights.

One of the ways that some states are working to realize their goal of forcing their pregnant citizens to give birth or die (those are the only two options when forced to give birth) is to pass laws criminalizing interstate travel to obtain an abortion. It seems to me that most people think that is a ridiculous idea (it is) and that there is no way it could ever happen (it could). The right to interstate travel is guaranteed by the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (the one the right to privacy comes from). It is such a basic, and heretofore universally accepted, right that there is not much case law relating to it - it’s one of those “how could you ever question that?” kind of rights that Americans take for granted.

Unfortunately, any trust in the current Supreme Court to uphold longstanding precedent or basic rights is misplaced. Our only real hope is Kavanaugh, who said specifically in his concurring opinion in Dobbs that he would not vote to uphold a ban on interstate travel as Constitutional. But let us never lose sight of the fact that Kavanaugh also testified, under oath, before Congress and in front of the American people, that Roe was settled precedent (it was) and that he would not support overturning it (he did). Turns out you can’t trust the word of a lying sexual predator. Who knew? (All of us – including Susan Collins, in my opinion).

A ban on interstate travel to obtain an abortion means making it illegal to travel to another state to engage in action that is perfectly legal in that state – like pot tourism, prostitution in Nevada, or buying guns and ammunition that is illegal in your state of residence from a seller in another state where it is legal. If such a ban were upheld, it would certainly be generalizable to every other law that is not consistent throughout the country. It means potentially being able to prosecute a provider (whether medical care provider, service provider or merchant) in a different state for doing something that is perfectly legal in *their* state.

Think about that for a minute. What would enforcing such a law look like? How would the authorities know you had broken that law? Border checks between states, and at airports? State scrutiny of your medical records, credit card purchases, store loyalty card records, phone records, internet activity? A bounty, like in Texas, to get your friends, family, and medical providers to turn you in? Do you think that only women openly seeking abortions would be monitored? Or, more likely, *all* women of reproductive age? (The bounty in Texas is $10,000, which is enough that workers in the medical care field have been turning in patients who might be seeking abortions. Which is exactly what the law was designed to do.) What are they going to do? Make girls register when they start having periods and then report each one, so the state knows who might be pregnant? How would the girl or woman prove that she had had her period, that she’s not secretly pregnant? Obligatory monthly pregnancy testing at a state-run clinic? Would a woman be allowed to move to another state without proving first that she’s not pregnant at the time? That all sounds extreme and crazy - mostly because it is - but if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that extreme and crazy doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen.

So the bottom line is this. It’s not just women who are under attack. It’s not just women who need to be concerned. And it’s not just at a federal level that the problems lie. There’s a town in New Hampshire, Croydon, where only 34 out of nearly 600 voters showed up to the town meeting where they pass the annual budget for the school district this past March. By a vote of 20-14, a budget slashing school funding by more than 50% was passed. The town was outraged, and luckily were able to reverse the budget via a technical loophole, but not before having to engage in a legal fight, extensive educational campaign, and a second vote. Local policy matters. It’s where everything starts, then percolates up into the statehouse and then the federal level. It’s the training ground for tomorrow’s power brokers.

It's hard to get yourself moving if you’ve never gotten involved. It takes time and effort to pay attention, inform yourself, and take action, even if the only action you take is voting. But it's the only way to preserve democracy. Do more than vote. Talk to your neighbors, your friends, your family. Contact your representatives, show up at rallies and town halls and ask questions. Hold your representatives responsible, and if they don’t represent their constituents instead of their own agendas, vote them out. Sign up to canvass for a cause you care about. Don’t stick your head in the sand. Don’t trust that everyone else will do the right thing. The more people that think that, the fewer of us take the trouble to inform ourselves, get involved, and vote, the more likely it is that not only will we be ruled by the few who show up, those few will be people who don’t respect your rights.