This case represents the next major fight for abortion access nationwide since the Court reversed Roe v. Wade over a year ago in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

But the case is about more than just the FDA’s approval process for mifepristone, one of two medications currently used for early abortions in the United States. It’s about the regulatory power of the FDA in general. And even more dangerous than that, it’s the first real test of the conservative legal movement’s strategy to resurrect the Comstock Act to ban abortion—and maybe even contraception—nationwide.

These self-identified “abolitionists” believe fervently that abortion is homicide. Most also want pregnant people who seek abortion to be imprisoned or even face the death penalty. And one of the prongs of their approach is “agitation.” In other words, AHA members are encouraged to be confrontational. You can see evidence of this on Herdon’s YouTube channel, where recent videos show him speaking on the floor of the state legislature, but older ones feature AHA actions. In one video, Herdon’s children sing a song with lyrics referring to abortion as “child sacrifice” and “a Holocaust disguised.”

Jen Jackson Quintano, who owns an arborist business with her husband and is also the founder of the Pro-Voice Project, echoed concerns about the hospital’s future. Health care “is a house of cards no matter where you are in the rural West,” she said. “But our house of cards was standing. Our doctors were willing to make sacrifices to work here because Sandpoint is worth it. And then suddenly it was no longer tenable.”

“The ability of a person to receive accurate information and referrals about their pregnancy options supports their ability to exercise their rights to have a child or not have a child,” LeBleu said. “If you don’t have the information and you can’t find a trusted person to share that information with you, this probably won’t lead you to a place where you can actualize your autonomy over your body and what you want to do about your pregnancy.”

The bill, first introduced in the previous session of Congress, would make reproductive health care more accessible for disabled people and increase the number of disabled people in the reproductive health workforce. Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) are introducing companion legislation in the House.