OPINION: Alaskans' right to an abortion is protected — but for how long?

In the past year alone, 13 U.S. states have banned or heavily restricted abortion. Alaska has stood apart thanks to constitutional protections enshrining the right to privacy. But those protections are not permanent — they are just one election away from being dismantled. It’s up to us, and our vote, to protect our freedoms.

For decades, Alaskans have enjoyed some of the strongest rights to abortion in the country, thanks to a series of Alaska Supreme Court rulings safeguarding this right. These decisions interpreted the state constitution’s rights to privacy and equal protection as protecting the ability to make personal medical decisions — including the reproductive health choice to have an abortion.

Even with these constitutional protections, lawmakers in Juneau have threatened to chip away at abortion access. The loss of abortion access would impact more than just people seeking abortions — it would limit health care options for all Alaskans. Just as we’ve seen in states like Idaho, Indiana and Georgia, banning abortion often opens the door to further restrictions on birth control, in vitro fertilization and gender-affirming care.

This is no longer a hypothetical “what-if” scenario. Emboldened by national rhetoric, out-of-touch politicians introduced two bills aiming to ban abortion care outright last year alone. These bills threatened not only abortion care but also access to birth control, fertility treatments, ectopic pregnancy management and miscarriage management. One of these bills went so far as criminalizing health care providers, charging them with murder for performing abortions — a disturbing attack on medical professionals.

This is just the beginning. Though these bills didn’t advance, it won’t take much for similar legislation to succeed. If we lose just enough seats to candidates who operate the same way as Reps. Jamie Allard and Sarah Vance, these types of bills will become the norm.

We don’t have to wonder what it would look like if Mia Costello, for example, was sent back to Juneau over Denny Wells. When Costello previously served in the Senate, she was the sponsor of a bill that severely restricted minors’ access to abortion care — a law that made it all the way to the Supreme Court and was ruled unconstitutional. In the Anchorage area, we have the opportunity to reject those politics and instead elect champions like Wells, Janice Park, Ky Holland, Ted J. Eischeid, Donna Mears and Walter Featherly.

The right to privacy isn’t just about abortion. It’s about empowering individuals to make personal health care choices without interference from politicians. This principle upholds medical autonomy, ensuring that we — not the government — have control over what happens to our bodies.

We cannot take our state’s constitutional protections for granted. The overwhelming majority of Alaskans support abortion. We need to vote to make sure our Legislature reflects our values. If you’re voting, great — just make sure everyone you know votes, too.

As state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, I have the honor of fighting alongside so many to protect and advance access to care. But I also see the harm that anti-abortion, anti-birth control and anti-IVF extremists have caused in other states and want to replicate here. I am voting to protect my community from those politicians and policies.

My little sister is pregnant in a state with an abortion ban. It’s terrifying to think she might not get the care she needs if something goes wrong. We now know stories of women dying from not receiving timely care.

Vote like your life depends on it. Because it could.

Rose O’Hara-Jolley (they/them) serves as the Alaska state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. Currently based in Anchorage, they have also called Cantwell and Fairbanks home.

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