Most abortions are now illegal in seven states following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday and end all federal protections for abortion.
Why it matters: At least 26 Republican-led states in total are expected to ban abortions or heavily restrict access to them in the wake of the ruling, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights organization.
- As more of the laws go into effect, people seeking abortions will be forced to either travel hundreds of miles to another state that allows abortions or order abortion pills that are prescribed online and are delivered through the mail.
- However, state lawmakers have already cracked down on abortion medications and may seek to prosecute women who cross state lines to get an abortion.
How it works: The Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe established the constitutional right to an abortion within the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
- The court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, a case challenging a Mississippi law on the grounds that it violated Roe and other precedents, overturned Roe and granted states the legal authority to ban the procedure at any point in pregnancy — including at fertilization, Axios' Oriana Gonzalez reports.
Data: Guttmacher Institute, Axios research; Table: Simran Parwani/Axios
Where most abortions are illegal:
- As of June 25, most abortions are illegal in seven states: Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Utah.
- Abortions were automatically banned in Louisiana, Kentucky and South Dakota, as these states had "trigger laws" that went into effect right after the Supreme Court released its ruling overturning Roe.
- Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah had trigger laws that only went into effect after the state's attorney general or a legislative council certified that the Supreme Court's decision met the legal requirements for triggering their laws.
- The laws banning abortions in Arkansas and South Dakota only allow exceptions if the life of the pregnant person is at risk and do not make exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape or incest.
- Kentucky, Louisiana and Missouri make exceptions if the pregnant person is at risk of death or permanent injury but do not make exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
- Lawmakers in those states may pass additional laws to carve out additional exceptions, but it's not guaranteed.
- Utah has exceptions for the life or health of the woman and for cases of rape and incest that are reported to law enforcement or if there are confirmed lethal birth defects present.
- Despite having a trigger law, abortions were already largely illegal in Oklahoma after it created a law that encouraged private citizens to sue anyone suspected of helping a person get an abortion starting at fertilization.
- Oklahoma's law included exceptions for rape and incest if they were reported to the police and if the abortion was needed to save a pregnant person's life.
- If found guilty of providing an abortion in those states and others, violators could be charged with a felony and be punished with major fines and/or prison sentences.
Where most abortions will soon be illegal:
- Most abortions will soon be illegal in Idaho, Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi, North Dakota and Wyoming, as these states had trigger bans that go into effect only after a certain time period or an additional action is completed following the ruling.
- Lawmakers in Idaho, Tennessee and Texas created abortion bans that go into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court issued its judgment in a case overturning Roe.
- Tennessee and Texas only provide exceptions for the life or permanent health of the pregnant person.
- Idaho's law provides exceptions in cases of reported rape or incest, or to protect the pregnant person’s life.
- North Dakota's ban goes into effect 30 days after a legislative council approves a recommendation from the state's attorney general. The law provides exceptions for risk of death or in cases of rape or incest.
- Mississippi's trigger law requires certification from the state's attorney general, which is pending. It allows exceptions for risk of death or in reported cases of rape or incest.
- Wyoming's law will go into effect five days after it is certified by the governor based on the recommendation from the state's attorney general within 30 days after the Supreme Court's ruling. It allows exceptions for risk of death or in reported cases of rape or incest.
Where most abortions could be banned:
- Most abortions will likely be banned or heavily restricted in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
- These states did not have trigger laws but either still have state laws enacted before 1973 that ban abortions or have passed laws that heavily restrict access to abortions that are being challenged but will likely be upheld.
- The Guttmacher Institute said Florida, Indiana, Montana and Nebraska will also seek abortion bans given their "political composition, history and other indicators."
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