|
Help |
Site Map
|
Relationships and Going Places
AS OF APRIL 4, 2022
Background
Changes to the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 raise the possibility that Roe v. Wade could be severely undermined — or even overturned — essentially leaving the legality of abortion to individual states. A reversal of Roe could establish a legal path for states’ pre-1973 abortion bans, as well as currently unenforced post-1973 bans, to take effect.
Many state lawmakers continue to consider and enact abortion bans that fly in the face of constitutional standards and Roe’s precedent in anticipation of an eventual lawsuit on such a ban coming before a Supreme Court hostile to abortion rights.
Some bans prohibit abortion under all or nearly all circumstances, a tactic widely viewed as an attempt to provoke a legal challenge to Roe. Several of this type of ban that were passed by states have been blocked by court orders and would require further court action to be enforced.
Other bans enacted after Roe are designed to be “triggered” and take effect automatically or by swift state action if Roe is overturned. Several states even have laws declaring the state’s intent to ban abortion to whatever extent is permitted by the U.S. Constitution, making their desire to halt abortion access in the state clear. A few states have amended their constitution to declare that it does not contain any protection for abortion rights or allow public funds to be used for abortion.
Meanwhile, policymakers in some states have approved laws to protect abortion rights without relying on the Roe decision. Most of these policies prohibit the state from interfering with the right to obtain an abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.
Visit our state legislation tracker for policy activity on all sexual and reproductive health topics.
Highlights
- 23 states have laws that could be used to restrict the legal status of abortion.
- 9 states retain their unenforced, pre-Roe abortion bans.
- 13 states have post-Roe laws to ban all or nearly all abortions that would be triggered if Roe were overturned.
- 9 states have unconstitutional post-Roe restrictions that are currently blocked by courts but could be brought back into effect with a court order in Roe’s absence.
- 7 states have laws that express the intent to restrict the right to legal abortion to the maximum extent permitted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the absence of Roe.
- 4 states have passed a constitutional amendment explicitly declaring that their constitution does not secure or protect the right to abortion or allow use of public funds for abortion.
- 16 states and the District of Columbia have laws that protect the right to abortion.
- 4 states and the District of Columbia have codified the right to abortion throughout pregnancy without state interference.
- 12 states explicitly permit abortion prior to viability or when necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.
Printer-friendly version
TOPIC
GEOGRAPHY
- Northern America: United States
- Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Related Content
Guttmacher Policy Review
*State Policy Resources: The Guttmacher Institute monitors and analyzes state policy developments—including legislative, judicial and executive actions — on a broad range of issues related to sexual and reproductive health and rights. These resources, on such issues as access to and availability of abortion, contraceptive services and sex education, are updated regularly to provide a comprehensive picture of the state policy landscape.
Jo Freeman Writes: The longest chapter is “The War On Uyghur Women”. Many women shared their personal stories with Turkel after they got out of the country. They told him of nightly raids for Korans and prayer rugs, “unlawful” children, or homes with more than two small knives. To keep the population down “women were forced to submit to gynecological exams, enforced contraception and abortions.” Those put into prison had their heads shaved and their long, black hair sold abroad. more »
"Cultural transmission of behaviour is an important aspect of many animal communities ranging from humans to birds. Male humpback whales ... sing a repetitive, stereotyped, socially learnt and culturally transmitted song display that slowly evolves each year. Most males within a population sing the same, slow-evolving song type; but in the South Pacific, song ‘revolutions’ have led to rapid and complete replacement of one song type by another introduced from a neighbouring population. Songs spread eastwards, from eastern Australia to French Polynesia, but the easterly extent of this transmission was unknown. Here, we investigated whether song revolutions continue to spread from the central (French Polynesia) into the eastern (Ecuador) South Pacific region. Similarity analyses using three consecutive years of song data (2016–2018) revealed that song themes recorded in 2016–2018 French Polynesian song matched song themes sung in 2018 Ecuadorian song, suggesting continued easterly transmission of song to Ecuador, and vocal connectivity across the entire South Pacific Ocean basin." more »
"I mean, as he said, the American Rescue Plan was passed 17 months ago. Three billion dollars of that came to the Commerce Department to do economic development. And we decided to put $1 billion into this Build Back Better Regional Challenge, and it’s because the President directed me to make investments in communities to help communities revitalize themselves and get ready for the transitions in our economy. Because he fundamentally said, “People want to work where they live, and they ought to be able to do that.” And so, that’s what this is all about. We believe every single American, no matter where you live, ought to have an opportunity to have a high-paying, family-supporting job in that community. So, let me fill in some of the blanks about the approach. It’s a novel approach. This is the first time ever the Department of Commerce has made such sizable investments in individual communities." more »
"GAO’s interviews with claims processors suggest that they evaluate claims for these conditions inconsistently based on inaccurate interpretations of VA’s claims processing procedures. Specifically, during interviews at three selected offices that process Agent Orange claims, GAO heard inaccurate statements about (1)when the 1-year manifestation period requirement applies and (2) what types of evidence can be used to address this requirement or to support requesting a medical opinion that could be used to support veterans’ claims. VA’s guidance does not clearly address these issues. Without clear guidance, claims processors may incorrectly apply the 1-year manifestation period requirement when veterans have evidence suggesting a direct connection to service and, in turn, could inappropriately deny benefits to some Vietnam veterans." more »
|
|
