In the 2022 state legislative session, over 500 abortion restrictions were introduced, with many extreme and restrictive anti-abortion bills passing. Rachel Sussman, Vice President of State Policy and Advocacy at Planned Parenthood Action Fund, talks to us about what the recent Supreme Court leak that threatens Roe v. Wade means for multiple states in the South and Midwest United States.

 

Many states have gotten a head start on introducing harmful anti-abortion legislation. In fact, Oklahoma and Idaho have enacted copycats of Texas’s S.8.—a bill that bans abortion after only six weeks of pregnancy and allows for private citizens to enforce the law against each other through legal action. Oklahoma’s law is officially in effect (PPFA has asked for a stay on the law and is waiting on the decision), while the Idaho law has been stopped at the state court level. Florida, Kentucky, and Arizona have all enacted 15-week abortion bans which will go into effect with the upholding of the case at the center of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In addition, Louisiana is contemplating a law that would allow patients to be charged with homicide (which comes with the death penalty in the state) if they receive an abortion. The bill could also criminalize emergency contraception, invitro fertilization, and birth control. (Since we recorded Louisiana lawmakers have taken a step back from this bill for now.) 

 

There are 26 states that are positioned to ban abortion with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, mostly throughout the Midwest and the South. This will leave entire regions of the country geographically stranded when it comes to access to abortion care. Abortion providers, clinics, and funds in states that will continue to provide abortion care will undoubtedly experience extreme logistical and structural challenges while attempting to absorb the patients traveling from out-of-state. Still, there are several states that are working to support and protect abortion in direct opposition to the Supreme Court’s leaked decision. New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, and Connecticut have all voted to expand the type of medical practitioners who can provide abortions (such as nurse practitioners). Meanwhile, Oregon, California, and Connecticut are discussing usage of state dollars to directly support patients in accessing care.

 

Links

PPFA on Twitter

PPFA on Facebook

Bansoff.org

Keepourclinics.org

National Network of Abortion Funds

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