Some state lawmakers have emerged this year as particularly hostile to abortion care. Arkansas has enacted 10 restrictive abortion laws so far in 2021.17 The guidelines include a near-total ban on abortion, restrictions on access to medical abortions, TRAP laws targeting abortion providers, an ultrasound requirement, a ban prohibiting the use of public funds for abortions, and more.18 Arizona passed a sweeping law with several abortion restrictions, including a basic ban. due to a genetic abnormality; restrictions on medical abortion; a TRAP Act; restrictions on funding for fetal tissue research; and a ban on providing abortion treatment in institutions that are part of public educational institutions.19 These restrictions reinforce existing barriers to abortion care and will put access to abortion completely out of reach for many in these states. An abortion is a medical procedure that ends a pregnancy. It is a basic health need for millions of women, girls and others who can become pregnant. Globally, it is estimated that 1 in 4 pregnancies end in abortion each year. But the situation has been very fluid in recent days, as the courts have been examining disputes between abortion opponents and abortion rights advocates. This decision sets a precedent for nearly 50 years. And it goes against the will of the American people, 80% of whom believe abortion should be legal. According to the World Health Organization, 23,000 women die each year from unsafe abortions and tens of thousands more suffer significant health complications worldwide.
A recent study estimated that an abortion ban in the United States would lead to a 21% increase in pregnancy-related deaths overall and a 33% increase among black women, simply because staying pregnant is more dangerous than having an abortion. The increase in deaths from unsafe abortions or attempted abortions would add to these estimates. “After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State” examines abortion laws, constitutions, and court decisions and places each state, territory, and District of Columbia in one of five categories: widespread, protected, unprotected, hostile, and illegal. Click on this tool to learn more about all the prohibitions and restrictions currently in place on the books in each state. This tool is updated in real time. On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court released its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women`s Health and highlighted Roe v. Wade, abolishing the federal standard to protect abortion rights. Across the country, states are responding by banning or protecting access to abortion. It is now up to each state to enact laws to protect or restrict abortion if there is no federal standard. Access to safe legal abortions now depends on where you live, and the national divide in access to abortion treatment has been exacerbated. The map below shows the status of implementation of abortion laws across the country.
In many circumstances, those who have no choice but to resort to unsafe abortions also face prosecution and punishment, including imprisonment, and may face cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and discrimination in life-saving health care after abortion and exclusion from abortion. Indeed, access to abortion is one of the most controversial issues in the world, and the debate is clouded by misinformation about the true implications of restricting access to this basic health care. Amid the whirlwind of judgments, all state clinics stopped offering abortions last week. But the four Texas clinics operated by Whole Woman`s Health began offering them again this week, if only for the first six weeks of pregnancy. And yet, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade – the case that recognized the constitutional right to abortion in 1973. The new Supreme Court decision means we have lost federal constitutional protection for abortion. The field of practice of non-physicians is regulated by state legislators and licensing committees. In general, state law does not describe specific medical care that is within or outside a physician`s field of practice. However, many states have treated abortion differently by limiting the provision of abortions to doctors. Other states have taken proactive steps to expand the types of clinicians who can legally provide abortion care by repealing laws reserved for doctors or explicitly allowing physician assistants, certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, and other qualified health professionals to provide abortion care through legislation.
regulations or opinions of the Attorney General. [3] See for example Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 22, § 1598(1). The law was amended to allow medical assistants and advanced practice nurses to perform abortions as well.
See H.P. 922, 129th Parl., 1st Reg. Abortion bans and restrictions also affect low-income people, for whom the cost of transportation, childcare and recreation often puts abortion out of reach – even when it is legal. This edition breaks down abortion bans and restrictions that state lawmakers passed this year, such as the recent Texas law, and highlights states that have protected and expanded abortion rights. Because the Supreme Court has declared abortion not protected by the U.S. Constitution, abortion rights advocates challenge many of these prohibitions, arguing that they violate their state`s constitution — for example, the rights to privacy, liberty, or equal protection. States may require state-regulated private health insurance policies to include certain benefits, including abortion coverage. However, some of the legal challenges are more process-related: they will focus on whether the prohibitions have been properly enacted or whether they conflict with other laws. Other largely restrictive laws passed this year include trigger bans passed in Oklahoma and Texas that would ban abortion if Roe is knocked down or eviscerated,24 joining 10 other states that have already passed such bans.25 In addition to a trigger ban and a near-total ban this year, Oklahoma has enacted a law, This would revoke the medical licenses of those who offer abortion.
with a few exceptions.26 Eventually, legislators in Kansas, Kentucky (for the second year in a row), and Iowa agreed to include language in their constitutions stating that the state does not recognize or grant the right to abortion.27 The Kansas and Kentucky laws were enacted, but these measures would have to be approved by a vote before state constitutions were amended.28 Although they have direct effect. They have limited direct effect.28 Although they have limited direct effect, they reflect the legislature`s opposition to the right to abortion. In 2021, the United States experienced the highest number of abortion restrictions in a single year, and the legal context in which this newly enacted legislation will operate is particularly weak. In a year when policymakers have a special responsibility to act to protect and expand access to comprehensive, high-quality health care, many have done exactly the opposite. The ability of the courts to act as an interim solution has already been undermined. When the Supreme Court undermined abortion rights in Dobbs v. Jackson`s Women`s Health Organization, this limited protection was nearly decimated, making access to abortion care even more dependent than it already is on where a person lives and their income. These impacts would disproportionately affect people of color, low-income people, youth, people with disabilities, transgender and non-binary people, immigrants, and people from the South and Midwest. Since the Supreme Court`s decision in 1973, its decisions in Roe v.
Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the states have built a lattice of abortion law that codifies, regulates and limits whether, when and under what circumstances a person can receive an abortion. The following table shows the most important provisions of these state laws. For more information, select the column headings in the table in blue. Unless otherwise stated, laws are in force, although they are not always enforced. The Center for Reproductive Rights monitors the latest developments in abortion law and policy. Even with these proactive measures, restrictions imposed by other states on abortion may, in practice, impede the availability of abortions across state borders. For example, in some states where abortion is recognized as essential health care, some providers are already experiencing an influx of patients due to the six-week ban in Texas.46 One Oklahoma City clinic has seen the number of calls it receives from Texas residents seeking an abortion increase from about five per day before the ban to about 55 per day since S.B. went into effect. 8.47 Family planning clinics in Colorado, New Mexico, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma are also working to accommodate an increase in the number of patients.48 The increase in the number of people seeking care risks overloading hospital capacity and prolonging wait times.