Supreme Court Overturn’s ROE V. Wade

From NPR

The U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists.

Writing for the court majority, Justice Samuel Alito said that the 1973 Roe ruling and repeated subsequent high court decisions reaffirming Roe “must be overruled” because they were “egregiously wrong,” the arguments “exceptionally weak” and so “damaging” that they amounted to “an abuse of judicial authority.”

The decision, most of which was leaked in early May, means that abortion rights will be rolled back in nearly half of the states immediately, with more restrictions likely to follow. For all practical purposes, abortion will not be available in large swaths of the country. The decision may well mean too that the court itself, as well as the abortion question, will become a focal point in the upcoming fall elections and in the fall and thereafter. For the rest of the article click here: Supreme Court Overturn’s Roe V Wade

According to an article by Guttmacher Institute :

26 States Are Certain or Likely to Ban Abortion Without Roe: Here’s Which Ones and Why

States Certain to Ban Abortion

If Roe were overturned or fundamentally weakened, 22 states have laws or constitutional amendments already in place that would make them certain to attempt to ban abortion as quickly as possible. Anti-abortion policymakers in several of these states have also indicated that they will introduce legislation modeled after the Texas six-week abortion ban.

By the time the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the Mississippi case, there will be nine states in this group with an abortion ban still on the books from before Roe v. Wade, 13 states with a trigger ban tied to Roe being overturned, five states with a near-total abortion ban enacted after Roe, 11 states with a six-week ban that is not in effect and one state (Texas) with a six-week ban that is in effect, one state with an eight-week ban that is not in effect and four states whose constitutions specifically bar a right to abortion. Some states have multiple types of bans in place.
 

Pre-Roe ban: Law enacted before 1973 and never removed

“Trigger” ban: Law designed to be “triggered” and take effect automatically or by quick state action if Roe no longer applies

Near-total ban: Law enacted after Roe to prohibit abortion under all or nearly all circumstances (several of this type are currently blocked by court order)

Six-week ban: Law prohibiting abortion after six weeks of pregnancy (one in effect)

Eight-week ban: Law prohibiting abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy (none in effect)

State constitution bars protection: Constitution amended to prohibit any protection for abortion rights
 

1. Alabama—Pre-Roe ban, Near-total ban, State constitution bars protection
2. Arizona—Pre-Roe ban
3. Arkansas—Pre-Roe ban, Trigger ban, Near-total ban
4. Georgia—Six-week ban
5. Idaho—Trigger ban, Six-week ban
6. Iowa—Six-week ban
7. Kentucky—Trigger ban, Six-week ban
8. Louisiana—Trigger ban, Near-total ban, Six-week ban, State constitution bars protection
9. Michigan—Pre-Roe ban
10.   Mississippi—Pre-Roe ban, Trigger ban, Six-week ban
11.   Missouri—Trigger ban, Eight-week ban
12.   North Dakota—Trigger ban, Six-week ban
13.   Ohio—Six-week ban
14.   Oklahoma—Pre-Roe ban, Trigger ban (effective November 1, 2021), Near-total ban, Six-week ban
15.   South Carolina—Six-week ban
16.   South Dakota—Trigger ban
17.   Tennessee—Trigger ban, Six-week ban, State constitution bars protection
18.   Texas—Pre-Roe ban, Trigger ban, Six-week ban
19.   Utah—Trigger ban, Near-total ban
20.   West Virginia—Pre-Roe ban, State constitution bars protection
21.   Wisconsin—Pre-Roe ban
22. . Wyoming—Trigger ban

States Likely to Ban Abortion

An additional four states have political composition, history and other indicators—such as recent actions to limit access to abortion—that show they are likely to ban abortion as soon as possible without federal protections in place.

1. Florida—In 2021, the state legislature attempted to ban abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy and an effort to adopt a Texas-style six-week ban was publicized. In April 2022, a 15-week abortion ban was enacted that is scheduled to go into effect in July.
2. Indiana—In the past decade, the legislature has enacted 55 abortion restrictions and bans, paving the way for a comprehensive ban.
3. Montana—For the first time in nearly a decade, new abortion restrictions were enacted in 2021, including restrictions on medication abortion and abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy. (These restrictions currently cannot be enforced due to a court order.)
4. Nebraska—Although not one of the most prolific states on enacting abortion restrictions, it was the first to adopt a 22-week ban (in 2010), and in 2020, enacted a ban on the standard method for abortion after 15 weeks.

Beyond the 26 states certain or likely to attempt to ban abortion immediately, other states have demonstrated hostility toward abortion by adopting multiple restrictions in the past, but are not likely to ban abortion in the near future. Notably, North Carolina has a pre-Roe abortion ban in place, but it is unclear if the state’s law would be implemented quickly. However, this analysis may change in the next few years.

It is also important to remember that Roe would not have to be overturned entirely to start the process of activating some trigger laws. If the Court weakens or undermines existing federal constitutional protections, that may be enough momentum for states to start implementing these bans.