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On June 24, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that gave a constitutional right to abortion. The decision is expected to result in abortion bans in roughly half of the states, although the timing of these laws going into effect varies.
Some Republican-led states have banned or severely restricted abortions immediately, while other restrictions will take effect later. At least one state, Texas, is waiting for the Supreme Court to issue its formal decision on the case, which is separate from the opinion issued in June and could take about a month. Regardless, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the long-dormant 1925 abortion ban was now in effect.
In anticipation of the decision, several Democratic-led states have taken steps to protect access to abortion. The decision 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 law 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 wants to ban or restrict access to abortion.
Background: In 2019, Alabama lawmakers approved what was then the nation’s strictest abortion ban, making it a crime 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 is at serious risk. A federal judge issued an injunction, under the precedent of Roe v. Wade, blocking the state from enforcing the law. In 2018, voters agreed to amend Alabama’s constitution to say the state recognizes “the rights of the unborn” and “does not protect the right to abortion or require abortion funding.” A 1951 law made it a crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison, to induce an abortion unless it was done to preserve the life or health of the mother.
Effect of Supreme Court Decision: Abortions became almost entirely illegal in Alabama on June 24. A 2019 state abortion ban went into effect, making it a crime to perform an abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. All three clinics stopped performing 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 overturn the ban and allow the state to enforce the 2019 abortion ban d. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said it is now a felony to perform an abortion in Alabama outside of one exception allowed in the 2019 law, which is for the health of the mother. Doctors who violate the law can face up to 99 years in prison. Marshall said the state will also move to remove other bans that have blocked previous abortion restrictions, including a requirement that doctors who perform abortions have hospital admitting privileges.
What’s next: Some Republican lawmakers have said they would like the state to 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 deliberately tough in hopes of prompting a legal challenge to Roe.
Political control: Republicans currently hold a majority of seats in the state legislature, but the House of Representatives is controlled by a bipartisan coalition of mostly Democrats. Fifty-nine of the 60 seats in the legislature are up for election this year. Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican who believes life begins at conception, is running for re-election.
Background: The Alaska Supreme Court interpreted the right to privacy in the state constitution to include abortion rights.
Effect of Supreme Court Decision: The US Supreme Court decision did not immediately affect abortion rights in Alaska, given existing precedent in the state.
What’s next: Voters will be asked in the fall 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 chosen and remove the interpretation that the constitution’s privacy clause allows abortion rights see an opportunity in pushing for a convention. Recent efforts to move a constitutional amendment through the legislature have been unsuccessful.
Political control: Both chambers of the legislature are controlled by Republicans, who regularly pass abortion restrictions that have been quickly signed into law by anti-abortion Republican Gov. Doug Ducey over the past eight sessions.
Background: Arizona law allows abortion up to about 22 weeks, but the legislature passed a ban on 15-week abortions in March, mirroring the Mississippi law that was challenged before the Supreme Court. It was due to come into effect 90 days after parliament adjourned on June 24. Current restrictions include bans on sex-based abortions and a 2021 law that makes it a crime for a doctor to terminate a pregnancy because the child has a survivable genetic abnormality. Arizona also has a pre-statehood law still in place that bans all abortions, although it has not been enforced since Roe was decided.
Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Ducey has argued in media interviews that the law he signed in late March takes precedence over the outright ban that remains on the books. But the law he signed specifically said it did not overturn a blanket ban on abortion that had been in place for more than 100 years. Ducey is term-limited and leaves office in January. Abortion providers across the state halted all procedures after the court ruled over concerns that the pre-Roe ban could put doctors, nurses and other providers at risk of prosecution. Republican state Attorney General Mark Burnovich said June 30 that the pre-statehood law could be implemented, putting him at odds with the Republican governor. Burnovich said he would seek to overturn the ban, which has been in place since the 1973 Roe decision. Also on June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Arizona to impose 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 is also being asked again to block a “personhood” provision that grants rights over eggs and fetuses that medical providers worry could be used to bring various charges of harming an unborn child.
What’s next: Abortion rights advocates in Arizona have begun a long-running effort to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Released weeks after a draft U.S. Supreme Court decision indicating Roe could be overturned, supporters need to collect more than 356,000 signatures by July 7 to get the initiative on the November ballot. Then the voters will 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 also supported abortion bans with some exceptions. He is term-limited and leaves office in January. Republican candidate Sarah Sanders, former President Donald Trump’s press secretary, is widely favored in November’s election to succeed him.
Background: Arkansas already had a law banning 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 overturned or blocked by courts in recent years, including a blanket abortion ban enacted last year that does not include exceptions for rape or incest. That ban was blocked by a federal judge, and the state appealed.
Effect of Supreme Court decision: Arkansas has a law passed in 2019 banning nearly all abortions after Roe was overturned. That ban, along with a blanket ban that was blocked by a federal judge, only allows exceptions to protect the mother’s life in a medical emergency. Hutchinson said he thinks the bans should include exceptions for rape and incest, but he hasn’t called on the Legislature to add them to either ban.
What’s next: Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge signed a certificate overturning Roe. This certification allows the state’s “trigger ban” to take effect immediately. The only exception to this prohibition is to protect the life of the mother in a medical emergency. The Legislature isn’t scheduled until January, but Hutchinson is considering calling a special session to consider tax relief proposals. The Republican governor said he does not plan to ask lawmakers to consider adding rape and incest exceptions to the state’s ban.
Political control: Pro-abortion Democrats 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 the woman’s mental health was in danger. 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. Since then, the state Supreme Court has interpreted this “right to privacy” as a right to access abortion, allows minors to have abortions without their parents’ permission, and uses public funding for abortions in the state’s Medicaid program. California now requires private health insurance plans to cover abortions and prevents them from charging things like co-pays or deductibles for the procedure.
Effect of Supreme Court ruling: Abortion will remain legal in California before fetal viability. Democratic…
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