Judges, state legislators and voters are deciding the future of abortion in the U.S. two years after the Supreme Court shook up the legal status quo with a decision that overturned Roe v..
The June 24, 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has sparked legislative action, protests and multiple lawsuits – putting the issue at the center of politics across the country.
Abortion is now banned at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions, in 14 Republican-controlled states. In three other states, it is banned after the first six weeks, that is, before many people know they are pregnant. Most Democratic-led states have taken steps to protect abortion rights and have become sanctuaries for out-of-state patients seeking care.
This has changed the landscape of abortion access, making it yet another logistical and financial ordeal for many in conservative states. But there is did not reduce the total number of procedures performed every month in the USA
Here’s what you should know about the state of abortion rights in the US right now.
Bans in Republican-led states have led many people seeking abortions to travel to get care.
This translates into higher costs for gasoline or airline tickets, hotels and meals; more logistics to sort out, including childcare; and more days off from work.
A new study from the Guttmacher Institute, which advocates for abortion access, found that of just over a million abortions performed in clinics, hospitals and doctors’ offices, more than 161,000 – or 16% – were to people who crossed state lines to get them.
More than two-thirds of abortions performed in Kansas and New Mexico were performed by people from out of state, especially Texans.
Since Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect in May, many people have had to travel further than before, as across the Southeast most states have bans.
Low-income patients and those without legal permission to remain in the country are more likely to be unable to travel. There can be lasting costs for those who do.
In Alabama, the Yellowhammer Fund, which previously helped residents pay for the procedure, has stopped doing so since facing threats of litigation by the state.
Jenice Fountain, executive director of Yellowhammer, said she recently met a woman who traveled from Alabama to neighboring Georgia for an abortion, but discovered she was unable to get one there because her pregnancy was a bit advanced. So she went to Virginia. The trip ran out of rent money and she needed help to stay at home.
“We’re making people use every dime they have to move out of state, or use every dime they have to have another baby,” Fountain said.
Nearly two-thirds of known abortions last year were performed with pills instead of procedures.
A report found that the pills are prescribed via telehealth and shipped to about 6,000 people per month who live in states with abortion bans. They are sent by medical providers in states with laws designed to protect them from lawsuits over these prescriptions. Laws in Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Washington specifically protect medical providers who prescribe the pills to patients in states with bans.
The growing prominence of the pills, which were used in about half of all abortions just before the Dobbs decision, is a frontier in the latest chapter of the legal fight.
O US Supreme Court this month unanimously rejected an effort by abortion opponents seeking to overturn or reverse the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs typically used together for medication abortions. O the problem will probably return.
In this presidential election year, abortion is a fundamental issue.
Protecting access has emerged as a key issue in Democratic campaigns, including President Joe Biden in his re-election bid. Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, said states should decide whether to restrict abortion. He also suggested states may limit contraception use, but changed his mind about it.
“We recognize that this may be the last Dobbs birthday we celebrate,” Kelsey Pritchard, a spokeswoman for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in an interview, noting that if Democrats win the presidency and regain control of both the chambers of Congress, a right to abortion could be enshrined in law.
The issue will also be placed directly in front of voters in at least four states. Colorado, Florida, Maryland and South Dakota have ballot measures this year asking voters to approve state constitutional amendments that protect or expand access to abortion. There are attempts to put abortion access issues on the ballot this year in Arkansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and Nevada, as well as a legal challenge to a court ruling that removed a New York measure from the ballot.
There is also a push for a ballot measure in Arizona, where the state Supreme Court ruled this year that the 1864 abortion ban could be enforced. With the help of some Republicans – Democrats in the Legislature managed repeal this law.
Generally, abortion rights increase when voters are deciding. In the seven statewide ballot measures related to abortion policy since 2022, voters have sided with abortion rights advocates in every case.
The Dobbs decision and its aftermath gave rise to a series of legal issues and lawsuits that challenged nearly all prohibitions and restrictions.
Many of these questions deal with how exceptions – which come into play much more frequently when abortion is prohibited early in pregnancy – should be applied. The question is often raised by those who wanted to get pregnant but experienced potentially fatal complications.
A group of women who had serious pregnancy complications but were denied abortions in Texas have sued, claiming the state’s ban is vague about what exceptions are allowed. The whole republican The Texas Supreme Court disagreed in a May decision.
The Supreme Court also I heard arguments in April about the federal government’s lawsuit against Idaho, which claims that the ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy can extend to women in medical emergencies. The Biden administration says this violates federal law. A decision on this case could be issued at any time.
Meanwhile, bans have been lifted by judges in Iowa, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
