The State of the Union address is on February 5th.
The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the nationwide right to abortion caused a lot of uncertainty about the future of abortion access. Some of the biggest questions are answered here.
How did the Supreme Court rule?
The Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy was upheld by the court. abortion is no longer a nationwide right after five of the court's nine justices voted to strike it down. Alito argued that the right to abortion is not included in the Constitution and that the right to abortion was abused by the courts.
Chief Justice John Roberts agreed to strike down Mississippi's law but did not agree to overturn it. The court's three liberal justices penned a dissent that expressed sorrow for the court but also for the millions of American women who have lost a fundamental constitutional protection.
The Supreme Court overturned a landmark abortion decision.
Which states have legalized abortion?
Trigger laws have been passed in a number of states. After Friday's ruling, Louisiana, Kentucky and South Dakota immediately outlawed abortion, as well as officials in Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Utah. abortions stopped Friday after the state attorney general said abortion is now illegal and threatened to prosecute abortion providers using a century-old law. The state's pre-Roe abortion ban took effect on Friday.
There are five more states that are guaranteed to prohibit abortion, but have waiting periods or additional action to do so. Tennessee, Mississippi, Idaho, North Dakota and Wyoming are included.
Here's when states will start banning abortion, and which already have done so.
Is it possible that more states will ban abortion in the future?
Absolutely. According to the Guttmacher Institute, up to 26 states will restrict or ban abortion. Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Arizona, Michigan, Indiana, South Carolina, Nebraska, Iowa and West Virginia are among those states. Several GOP governors pushed for new abortion restrictions.
The attorney general of Michigan said she wouldn't enforce the 1931 abortion ban, despite the governor's vow to fight like hell. Wisconsin clinics stopped offering abortions Friday after the Attorney General said he wouldn't enforce the state's abortion ban.
The GOP-run states pushed new abortion restrictions after the Supreme Court struck down the 1973 law.
Rape, incest and threats to the life of the mother are not allowed.
Few states allow for abortions in cases of rape or incest even if there is a risk to the mother's life. Only Utah and Idaho have exceptions for rape or incest.
There are penalties for doing an abortion in a state that is not legal.
Texas and Utah are two of the states withtrigger bans that make abortion a felony. There are varying maximum prison sentences in Louisiana, Texas and Wyoming.
Penalties for the person who sought an abortion are not included in the ban.
If the abortion law is changed, it will become a felony to perform an abortion in these states.
Some states have promised to protect abortion.
There are laws protecting the right to an abortion in 16 states and Washington, D.C. They are California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado, Washington, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Nevada, Connecticut, Maine, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Delaware and Vermont.
The states have different policies. Colorado and Massachusetts both allow abortion throughout a patient's pregnancies.
Here are the states that will still protect abortion rights.
There could be an abortion ban.
The Supreme Court ruling doesn't ban abortion in the U.S., but it makes it easier for women to access it. Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, told CNN he supports a 15-week ban on abortions.
If Republicans want to restrict abortion nationwide, they'll need to win back control of Congress and the White House. Democrats would be able to use the Senate's filibuster to block any legislation that doesn't have the support of at least 60 senators, according to polls.
More than half of Republicans don't want a nationwide ban on abortion, according to a survey.
A poll shows that most Republicans don't want Congress to ban abortion nationwide.
Is it possible for women to get an abortion in another state?
I agree. Women who travel across state lines to get an abortion are not recommended to be prosecuted.
Women who reside in states that have banned access to comprehensive reproductive care must remain free to seek that care in states where it is legal according to the U.S. attorney general.
Is it possible to reverse the decision?
The current makeup of Congress makes codifying abortion rights into federal law unlikely. Democrats control Congress by an extremely slim margin, but they would need to eliminate the Senate filibuster in order to codify any abortion laws. The two centrist Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, oppose dropping the filibuster.
The Senate could guarantee abortion rights nationwide. There is a reason why it is still unlikely.
What does this mean for fertility treatments?
It is possible that the overturn of abortion could make it more difficult for some Americans to access assisted reproductive technology. State laws that define life as beginning at fertilization would seem to bring the legality of IVF procedures into question. Over the past few weeks, some fertility companies moved human embryos away from states with ban on embryo transfer.
Here is how it could affect fertility treatments and in-vivo fertilization.
Is it possible to take abortion pills?
This isn't clear. The use of abortion pills will be an issue that will end up in court. According to Garland, states can't ban the FDA-approved pill that can be used to induce an abortion.
Is it possible that it could affect the care for the unborn?
It's possible. Many of the medications used to treat miscarriages are also used for abortions, and the broad language of the bans could impact the availability of those drugs, while healthcare providers may risk prosecution if they are suspected of performing an abortion.
Here's how it'll impact reproductive healthcare, beyond abortion.
Is the decision threatening the rights of gay marriage and contraceptive use?
Friday's court decision was limited to abortion and did not affect other issues. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion in which he suggested that the court should review other landmark cases.
Alito emphasized in the majority opinion that the ruling should not be construed to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion, and argued Obergefell and Griswold are different cases because they do not involve questions of life.
Lawmakers in some states have suggested banning contraceptives like Plan B, but it's not clear if the overturn of the abortion law gives states legal authority to do so.
Clarence Thomas said that the court should reconsider gay marriage and birth control decisions.
How it could threaten birth control access is explained in this article.
Do most Americans agree with the decision to allow abortion?
The data doesn't change much. Most Americans want abortion to be legal in cases of rape or incest, according to polls. According to a June 2021 Associated Press/NORC poll, 61% of Americans think abortion should be legal during the first three months of a pregnant woman's life, but only 34% think it should be legal in the second and third trimesters.
How Americans Really Feel About Abortion: The Sometimes Surprising Poll Results is a story about how Americans feel about abortion.
Is there a reason for the decision to overturn the abortion law? How about McConnell?
The Supreme Court picks of the former president were a big factor. The court's makeup took a hard right turn under Trump, who replaced moderate Anthony Kennedy with conservative.
The court's ideology was shifted by Sen.Mitch McConnell. He prevented Obama from replacing Scalia with Garland because he thought it was too close to an election. The move made it possible for Trump to replace Scalia with a conservative. After Ginsburg died in September 2020, McConnell took a 180 and moved to confirmBarrett weeks before an election, in a process that critics felt was rushed.
The abortion rights advocates blamed Trump for the court's decision. Trump said in a statement Friday that he should get credit for the overturn of the abortion law because he fulfilled his promises.
Trump gets the credit for the decision to overturn Wade.
There will be an economic impact.
It is possible. Negative economic impacts for women have been found by studies. According to a 2020 report from the International Women's Policy Center, abolishing all abortion restrictions would raise the average salaries of women ages 15 to 44 by more than $1,000. Reduced labor force participation, lower education levels, and increased turnover rates have been cited by researchers.
State economies and the GDP are going to be hurt by abortion bans.
The economy can be impacted by overturning the Wade decision.
Businesses are reacting.
Many large U.S. companies told employees they will keep covering abortion as part of their health plans and will now start covering travel expenses for those who need to go to another state for an abortion Such policies have been announced by employers like Disney.
These are the US companies that offer abortion related benefits.
Medicaid-funded abortions will be impacted by the ruling.
Most states only pay for abortions for low-income women in cases of rape, incest and threats to the patient's life, so they are rare. Other health services are covered in 17 states.
How Overturning Wade Affects Taxpayer-Funded Abortions is a story.
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