Twenty-one states are ready to ban or severely restrict abortion if Roe v. Overturned Wade: NPR

Activists and protesters gather in front of the US Supreme Court as judges hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health.

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Activists and protesters gather in front of the US Supreme Court as judges hear arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty

When the Supreme Court passes its decision in a heavily watched Mississippi abortion this summer, access to legal abortion could end for more than 100 million Americans, including those in need. people living in nearly every Southern state and large swaths of the Midwest.

21 states are ready to immediately ban or radically restrict access to abortion if the Supreme Court decides to overturn or weaken Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that for nearly 50 years guaranteed women’s right to abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group advocating abortion rights.

The crux of the legal argument made by the state of Mississippi, which is seeking to overturn Roe, is the U.S. Constitution neutral on the issue of abortion – meaning that the power to regulate the issue will be in the hands of individual states.

“When an issue affects everyone, and when the Constitution doesn’t take sides, it’s with the people,” Mississippi’s attorney general, Scott Stewart, said during Wednesday’s arguments about the case. , called Dobbs sues Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

If the court’s conservative majority agrees – its ruling is expected this summer – the so-called “trigger law” will go into effect and automatically ban or cut out abortion in 12 states. In nine other states, beforeRoe abortion bans could again go into effect, or more recent bans that were blocked by the courts could go into effect.

The details of the activation laws vary by state, but they all become automatic when flipped Roe v. Wade. Most would ban abortion outright with some limited exceptions – like medical emergencies or in cases of rape and incest. They are currently in place in 12 states: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.

Most were enacted during the Trump administration, after conservatives Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh were confirmed before the Supreme Court.

Those appointments have encouraged Republican-led state legislatures to pass abortion bans in hopes of gutting the more conservative Supreme Court. Roe v. Wade — including the Mississippi bill that went before the court, which would have banned abortions after 15 weeks, about nine weeks before the time a fetus exists. Roe and the decisions later depend on.

“Whether you want abortion or are against abortion, put that aside. The Constitution does not have the power to strip them of their power in the democratic process to ban abortion,” said former Mississippi governor, Phil Bryant, said. signed the law in 2018, say this week In an interview with NPR.

In addition to the activation laws, nine states still have abortion bans on books that have been issued before Roe was decided in 1973. Those states – the four states that activated the law along with Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, West Virginia and Wisconsin – could choose to begin implementation immediately.

And four other states – Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina – have passed so-called “heartbeat” laws in recent years banning abortions after heart activity is detected, possibly as early as the pregnancy. six weeks. All four laws are currently blocked by the courts, but the ban could be lifted if the Supreme Court overturns Roe.

In fact, abortion may soon be illegal or nearly inaccessible in these 21 states, with a combined population of more than 135 million – a huge change from today’s environment, where all 50 Every state has at least one operating abortion clinic.

Hillary Schneller of the Center for Reproductive Rights, one of the lead attorneys representing the Jackson Women’s Health Foundation, the Mississippi abortion clinic at the center of the case, said the outcome would be “chaos and devastation.” amazing”.

“In states across the South and Midwest, it will force people with the means to go where abortion is still legal. But many are low-income people. [and] Communities of color that are already challenged in accessing abortion won’t be able to really make that happen.” Schneller said.

Opponents of abortion rights point out that abortion will remain legal in most of the rest of the countries, including 15 states, mainly in the West and Northeast, that explicitly authorize abortion.

Two states – Oregon and Vermont, along with the District of Columbia – explicitly allow abortions after the fetus is still alive.

“The reversal of Roe Mario Díaz, who acts as a general counsel for Women of America, an organization that opposes abortion rights, said it would not make abortion illegal.

“We’re asking them to recognize that the Constitution isn’t about that and to give power back to the people. And then that will give us laws around the states that reflect what the people believe in. “. he say.

If the court overturns Roe, other Republican-led states that don’t currently have more restrictive abortion bans on books — like Florida, Indiana, Montana, and Nebraska — could quickly enact abortion bans. Residents of battleground states like Pennsylvania could be thrown into uncertainty as state legislators debate whether to enact restrictions.

“Whether you have access to safe, essential, medically necessary care will depend entirely on where in the country you live and the type of resources you have access to,” Dr. Jamila Perritt said, president and CEO of Doctors of Reproductive Health, an organization that advocates for abortion rights.

And nationwide efforts to ban abortion are unlikely to end with a court decision in DobbsMary Ziegler, a Florida State University professor who studies abortion law.

“Even if the Supreme Court doesn’t make that argument public right away, we should expect anti-abortion groups to press it in the coming years,” Ziegler said. talk to NPR ahead of time in court.