One year ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court made the unprecedented decision to end the constitutional right to abortion, striking down the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Last year's decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization upheld a Mississippi law that banned most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The decision gave each state the individual right to enforce their own abortion restrictions, many of which had so-called "trigger laws" with six-week abortion bans.
Chaos ensued as many state statutes made providing an abortion illegal, rather than prosecute those getting them. Depending on the state, the result could be penalizing abortion care providers with a high fee — or sometimes, slapping on prison sentences. While there were some exceptions, such as cases of life endangerment for the mother, the language in many states was intentionally vague.
