As communities reel from the devastating impacts of COVID-19, conservative politicians and lawmakers in an alarming number of states have capitalized on the fear and scarcity surrounding the pandemic. They are using legitimate health concerns as a smokescreen to enact anti-choice abortion bans. They have done so under the pretense of public safety, but their actions jeopardize the health and well-being of their communities.

Abortion clinics in Texas have been locked in a legal battle with the state government in recent weeks, leaving vulnerable patients in limbo, after Gov. Greg Abbott deemed abortion a “non-essential” medical procedure. This was purportedly a decision made in…