Perhaps because abortion, an incredibly common experience that one in four women in the U.S. will have, isn’t prioritized. Politicians treat this essential care that has allowed millions of people to create the kinds of lives they want, and in some cases, literally survive, as a political football and a selfish choice. In reality, abortion is essential care , and the U.S. is very close to seeing what will happen when access to it erodes. Before coronavirus hit, we were already at a crisis point for abortion access, with a third of abortion clinics forced to close and 400 abortion restrictions passed over the past 10 years. Now, that crisis will only grow more acute for the most marginalized among us. Unless states begin to crack down on the mass of protesters still assembling at clinics and the FDA eases restrictions on medication abortion, safe and legal abortion could become a pipe dream for many pregnant people.