A Turning Point: The Dobbs Decision’s Influence on Global Abortion Policies

June 24, 2025 marks three years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, stripping away nearly five decades of federal protections for abortion and upending the reproductive rights landscape across the country—and far beyond. The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision did not simply return the question of abortion to the states; it sent a global message that reproductive rights are vulnerable, politicized, and—without vigilance—reversible. 

In the immediate aftermath, the consequences were swift and brutal. Trigger laws—laws that were unenforceable but preemptively put into place in anticipation of the overturn of Roe v. Wade—went into effect in multiple U.S. states, criminalizing or severely restricting abortion access. Other states began enforcing archaic laws long dormant under Roe. Millions of Americans, particularly in the South and Midwest, were left navigating a patchwork of rights where access depended on geography, privilege, and politics. 

But the impact of Dobbs didn’t stop at the U.S. border. As documented by PAI and echoed by activists worldwide, the decision emboldened anti-choice movements around the world, and sowed fear among frontline advocates who had been making steady progress toward liberalizing reproductive health policies. U.S. influence—once seen as a force for progressive change—became a liability, a cautionary tale of backsliding in real time in countries in Latin America, Africa, and parts of Eastern Europe. 

And now, three years post-Dobbs and under the second Trump administration, we are seeing the U.S. government actively undermine sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) both in the United States and abroad through the continued rollbacks of domestic reproductive protections and attacks on foreign assistance, such as the dismantling of USAID. 

This anniversary leaves us with a sobering but valuable takeaway: the U.S. is no longer leading the world forward on SRHR, but the global movement is far from defeated. Our reproductive rights may be fragile, but they are not fixed, and the path ahead must include repealing restrictive policies, safeguarding access to essential reproductive healthcare, and uplifting the voices of those who have long been on the front lines.  Because what happens in abortion policy in one setting ultimately reverberates around the world.