In a controversial judgment by the United States Supreme Court, the highest authority has ended constitutional protections for abortion that were in place for nearly five decades. The new decision in Dobbs Vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In an astonishing decision on Friday (June 24) Justice Alito wrote, “Authority to regulate abortion rests with the political branches, not the courts.”
As the conservatives celebrate the decision, this ruling has put most American at odds with the court. The law that once granted “constitutional protection for abortion” now takes away the right, jeopardizing the rights of many women. Moreover, the overturning of ‘Roe vs. Wade’ leaves abortion laws entirely up to the states. Here is a list of the states that are set to ban or have already banned abortions enforcing their “trigger bans”.
States That Will Ban Abortion…
As per the image above, Some states have multiple types of laws to ban or severely limit access to abortion. For the purposes of this map, the strongest ban takes precedence. In states with six-week bans not yet in effect, those bans are challenged in state courts and/or pending resolution with state attorneys general. Please read below:
- Ohio bans abortion after about six weeks.
- Arizona recently enacted a 15-week ban and may not enforce its pre-Roe ban.
- Michigan’s governor has asked for the pre-Roe ban to be struck down.
- Texas already had a 6-week ban in effect. The Texas attorney general argues that other pre-Roe bans are now in effect.
- Pre-Roe bans are in effect in Wisconsin and West Virginia, but the extent to which they would be enforced is unknown.
The decision in Dobbs Vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that bans abortion has brought in massive outrage by Americans who now stand at odds with the court. Justice Alito along with judges like justice Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, the latter three being Trump appointees overruled Roe Vs. Wade and Planned Parenthood Vs. Casey, which granted constitutional protections for abortions.
The judges wrote that the previous judgements were wrong the day they were decided and must be overturned. Justice Alito also noted that the Constitution “makes no reference” to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.
Abortion is now illegal or heavily restricted in at least 11 states following the Supreme Court’s historic decision Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade. Twelve other states have laws in place that pave the way to quickly ban or severely restrict access to them, according to research from the Guttmacher Institute, a group that favours abortion rights. Several additional states appear likely to pass new laws.
As per the judgement, “Authority to regulate abortion rests with the political branches, not the courts.” Here is a list of all states where abortions are now banned or strictly limited, and where they may be soon banned:
- Alabama (Potentially Illegal, the near-total ban could be reinstated)
- Alaska (Legal as of now but the policy is not protected by the state)
- Arizona (a 15-week ban will go into effect no later than Sept. 29)
- Arkansas (Illegal except to save the life of a pregnant person, soon to be illegal)
- Florida (15-week ban is slated to take effect July 1)
- Georgia (Legal for now, Abortion legal until 20 weeks after fertilization; the court could lift the injunction on the six-week ban)
- Idaho (Abortion is temporarily legal until viability; all abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, and to save the life of the pregnant person, are illegal 30 days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe)
- Indiana (Abortion is legal until 20 weeks after fertilization, however, state law does not protect abortion access)
- Kentucky (All abortions are illegal, except to save the life of a pregnant person)
- Lousiana (All abortions are illegal, except to save the life of a pregnant person)
- Michigan (pre-Roe law banning all abortions except to save the life of the pregnant person could be reinstated by the courts)
- Mississippi (soon to be illegal)
- Missouri (soon to be illegal)
- North Dakota (soon to be illegal)
- South Dakota (illegal except to save the life of a pregnant person)
- Tenessee (soon to be illegal)
- Texas (Illegal)
- Utah (Soon to be illegal)
- West Virginia (Potentially Illegal as State could try to enforce its pre-Roe law, banning all abortions except to save the life of the pregnant person)
- Wisconsin (Potentially illegal, State’s pre-Roe law, banning all abortions except to save the life of the pregnant person, is likely in effect)
- Wyoming (Soon to be illegal, Abortion temporarily legal until viability; illegal 5 days after reviewing of new judgment by the governor, attorney general and secretary of state is complete)
In plain terms, a trigger law is a nickname for a law, which is initially unenforceable but may achieve enforceability if a key change in circumstances occurs. In the United States, 13 states have enacted trigger laws which means they will automatically ban (medically unnecessary) abortion in the first and second trimesters as Roe v. Wade gets overturned.
Three states Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota — have so-called “trigger bans” that went into effect automatically with the Supreme Court’s reversal Friday of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that had established a constitutional right to an abortion. What’s important to note is that the trigger ban applies throughout pregnancy. It does not have a gestational age [restriction].
Ten other states have trigger bans with implementation mechanisms that occur after a set period or after a step taken by a state government entity. Missouri has already made the move required to implement its abortion ban, with state Attorney General Eric Schmitt announcing on Friday that he had taken the step of certification laid out by Missouri law. All I can say is, “it’s going to be an absolute nightmare!”
