Comment The US Supreme Court on June 24 overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that granted a constitutional right to abortion. The decision is expected to lead to abortion bans in about half of the states, although the timing of those laws going into effect varies. Some Republican-led states banned or severely restricted abortions immediately, while other restrictions will take effect later. At least one state, Texas, is waiting until the Supreme Court issues its formal decision on the case, which is separate from the June opinion and could take about a month. However, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the long-dormant 1925 abortion ban is now in effect. In anticipation of the decision, several states led by Democrats have taken steps to protect access to abortion. The ruling also creates the potential for legal battles between states over whether providers and those who help women obtain abortions can be sued or prosecuted. Here’s an overview of abortion laws and the expected impact of the court’s decision in each state. Political control: Alabama has a Republican-controlled legislature and a Republican governor who want to ban or restrict access to abortion. Background: In 2019, Alabama lawmakers passed the nation’s strictest abortion ban, making it a felony to perform an abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. The only exception would be when the woman’s health was seriously at risk. A federal judge issued an injunction, following Roe v. Wade precedent, preventing the state from enforcing the law. In 2018, voters agreed to amend the Alabama Constitution to say that the state recognizes the “rights of the unborn” and “does not protect the right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.” A 1951 law made it a crime, punishable by up to 12 months’ imprisonment, to induce an abortion unless it is done to preserve the life or health of the mother. Result of Supreme Court ruling: Abortion became almost entirely illegal in Alabama on June 24. The state’s abortion ban went into effect in 2019, making it a felony to obtain an abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. All three clinics stopped providing abortions that morning for fear of prosecution under the 1951 state law. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson hours later granted Alabama’s request to lift an injunction and allow the state to enforce the ban on abortions in 2019. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said it is now a felony to provide abortions in Alabama beyond the one exception allowed in the 2019 law, which is for the sake of the mother’s health. Doctors who violate the law can face up to 99 years in prison. Marshall said the state will also move to remove other injunctions that have hindered previous restrictions on abortion, including the requirement for doctors who perform abortions to have hospital admitting privileges. What’s next: Some Republican lawmakers have said they’d like to see the state replace the 2019 ban with a slightly less stringent bill that would allow exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Supporters said the 2019 ban was purposely harsh in hopes of sparking a Roe challenge. Political control: Republicans currently hold a majority of seats in the state legislature, but the House is controlled by a bipartisan coalition of mostly Democrats. Fifty-nine of the Legislature’s 60 seats are up for election this year. Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican who believes life begins at conception, is seeking re-election. Background: The Alaska Supreme Court has interpreted the right to privacy in the state constitution to include abortion rights. Impact of the Supreme Court decision: The US Supreme Court decision did not directly affect abortion rights in Alaska, given existing precedent in the state. What’s next: Voters in the fall will be asked whether they want to hold a constitutional convention, a question that comes up every 10 years. Many conservatives who want to overhaul how judges are selected and overturn the interpretation that the constitution’s privacy clause allows abortion rights see an opportunity to push for a convention. Recent efforts to push a constitutional amendment through the legislature have been unsuccessful. Political control: Both houses of the legislature are controlled by Republicans, who routinely pass abortion restrictions that in the past eight sessions have been quickly signed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, an anti-abortion opponent. Background: Arizona law allows abortion at about 22 weeks, but the legislature passed a 15-week abortion ban in March, mirroring the Mississippi law that was challenged before the Supreme Court. It was to take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourned on June 24. Current restrictions include sex-selective abortion bans and a 2021 law that makes it a felony for a doctor to terminate a pregnancy because the child has a survivable birth defect. Arizona also has a pre-state law still on the books that would ban all abortions, though it hasn’t been implemented since Roe was decided. Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Ducey has argued in media interviews that the law he signed in late March trumps the blanket ban that remains on the books. But the law he signed specifically says it does not overturn a blanket ban on abortion that has been in place for more than 100 years. Ducey is term-limited and steps down in January. Abortion providers across the state halted all procedures after the court’s decision because of concerns that the pre- Roe ban could put doctors, nurses and other providers at risk of prosecution. Republican state Attorney General Mark Brnovich said June 30 that the state’s prior law could be enforced, putting him at odds with the Republican governor. Brnovich said he would seek to remove an order that was in place shortly after the 1973 Roe decision. Also on June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Arizona to enforce a ban on abortions performed solely because the fetus has a genetic abnormality. A federal judge blocked that part of Arizona’s 2021 law last year, saying it was unconstitutionally vague, but will now have to reconsider that decision. He was also asked again to block a “personhood” provision that grants rights to eggs and embryos, which doctors worry could be used to bring various charges of harming an unborn child. What’s next: Abortion rights advocates in Arizona have launched a major effort to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution. Released weeks after a draft U.S. Supreme Court decision was leaked that indicated Roe could be overturned, supporters need to gather more than 356,000 signatures by July 7 to get the initiative on the November ballot. Voters will then be able to decide. Political control: The Arkansas legislature is controlled by Republicans who have supported dozens of abortion bans and restrictions in recent years. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has also supported abortion bans with some exceptions. He has a limited term and leaves in January. Republican candidate Sarah Sanders, former President Donald Trump’s press secretary, is widely favored in the November election to succeed him. Background: Arkansas already had a law that banned most abortions 20 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. The state has several other bans that have been struck down or blocked by courts in recent years, including an absolute abortion ban enacted last year that does not include exceptions for rape or incest. That ban has been blocked by a federal judge, and the state has appealed. Effect of the Supreme Court decision: Arkansas has a law passed in 2019 that bans almost all abortions now that Roe has been overturned. That ban, along with a blanket ban blocked by a federal judge, only allows exceptions to protect the mother’s life in a medical emergency. Hutchinson said he believes the bans should include rape and incest exceptions, but he hasn’t asked the Legislature to add those to either ban. What’s next: Hours after the US Supreme Court’s decision, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge signed a declaration that Roe had been overturned. This certification allows the state’s “trigger ban” to be implemented immediately. The only exception to this prohibition is to protect the life of the mother in a medical emergency. The Legislature isn’t scheduled to convene until January, but Hutchinson is considering calling a special session to consider the tax relief proposals. The Republican governor said he does not plan to ask lawmakers to consider adding exceptions for rape and incest to the state’s ban. Political control: Democrats who support abortion access control all statewide elected offices and hold large majorities in the state legislature. Background: California outlawed abortion in 1850, except when the mother’s life was in danger. The law was changed in 1967 to include abortions in cases of rape, incest, or if a woman’s mental health was at risk. In 1969, the California Supreme Court declared the state’s original abortion law unconstitutional, but left the 1967 law in place. In 1972, California voters added a “right to privacy” to the state constitution. The state Supreme Court has since interpreted that “right to privacy” to mean the right to access abortion, allow minors to get abortions without their parents’ permission, and use public funding for abortions in the state’s Medicaid program. California now requires private health insurance plans to cover abortions and doesn’t allow them to charge things like co-pays or deductibles for the procedure. Upshot of Supreme Court ruling: Abortion will remain legal in California before a fetus is viable. Democratic…
