THU, APR 27 2023
Spencer Kimball
The abortion pill mifepristone is either banned or restricted to varying degrees in 27 states despite a Supreme Court decision that — for now — maintains Food and Drug Administration regulations allowing easy access to the medication.
The Supreme Court, acting on an emergency basis, last week blocked lower federal court orders that had imposed severe restrictions on mifepristone even in some states where abortion remains legal.
By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and GEOFF MULVIHILL
March 25, 2023
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A group of Tennessee Republicans began this year’s legislative session hoping to add narrow exceptions to one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, armed with the belief that most people — even in conservative Tennessee — reject extremes on the issue.
Tennessee law requires doctors to prove in court that they were saving a woman’s life when they performed an abortion. Surely, the lawmakers thought, they could win concessions that would allow doctors to use their good faith judgment about when abortion is necessary to save a woman’s life. But after a key anti-abortion group stepped in, the lawmakers had to settle for a stricter legal standard that moves the needle very little.
States are passing more abortion restrictions, which could reshape what abortion access looks like across the country.
July 25, 2021
By Chloe Atkins
The current landscape of abortion access in the United States came into focus in May after the Supreme Court decided to consider the legality of Mississippi's ban on nearly all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Mississippi’s restriction was the first to reach the court from a wave of state laws intended to strike down Roe v. Wade, the decision that established the constitutional right to an abortion nationwide.
The first major abortion case since the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett solidified a conservative majority comes as state legislatures around the country have brought a historic number of laws seeking to tighten abortion access.
Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/what-u-s-abortion-access-looks-graphics-n1274859
If the Supreme Court overturns the 1973 precedent, the legality of abortion will be left to individual states. Many have already made their intentions clear.
By Daniela Santamariña
June 11, 2021
In May, the Supreme Court decided to review a restrictive Mississippi abortion law that provides a clear path to overturn or diminish Roe v. Wade. The justices will hear the case in October and are likely to deliver a decision in the first half of next year.
A few days after the court’s announcement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill banning abortions the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Together, these laws are the latest in a long line of challenges to abortion rights in the United States.
Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/11/abortion-rights-roe-v-wade/
1/28/2021
by SWATHI KELLA
A recent study from Guttmacher Institute found that while almost 60 percent of women who may seek an abortion are located in U.S. states that are hostile to abortion rights, only 26 percent of abortion facilities fall within these states.
The study examined the 808 clinics in the United States that collectively provided 95 percent of abortions in 2017. Central to the study was a map the Guttmacher Institute had produced in 2017 classifying each state as “supportive,” “middle-ground,” “hostile” or “extremely hostile” to abortion rights. The map showed that only 12 states were supportive of abortion rights, while 29 states were either hostile or extremely hostile.
Abortion Rights in Peril — What Clinicians Need to Know
Elizabeth Nash, M.P.P.
August 8, 2019
N Engl J Med 2019; 381:497-499
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1906972
This year, 2019, has become a critical time for abortion rights, with an unprecedented surge of abortion bans sweeping across the United States. Through June 1, some 26 abortion bans have been enacted in 12 states, and many more have been introduced by state legislators.
Yet state efforts to undermine abortion rights and access have been under way since the 1973 decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton affirmed the constitutional right to abortion. During that time, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed the right to abortion while also modifying the legal framework that shapes access to care.
Continued: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1906972
Two New Reports on Current State Policy Trends
Jan 2, 2019
Guttmacher policy experts have created two new reports documenting state policy trends on issues related to sexual and reproductive health and rights. The first report details state-level policies enacted over the course of 2018, while the second analysis—covering the years 2000, 2010 and 2019—examines the extent to which each state’s policy environment is either hostile to, or supportive of, abortion rights.
State Policy Trends 2018
Conservatives now have a clear majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, putting Roe v. Wade in jeopardy of being hollowed out or overturned. Against that backdrop, policymakers in a number of states continued to pass new abortion restrictions in 2018, including measures clearly intended to violate Roe by banning abortion at early stages of pregnancy. At the same time, more than half of all states adopted measures to expand or protect access to sexual and reproductive health care.
Continued: https://mailchi.mp/guttmacher/two-new-reports-on-current-state-policy-trends-937129?e=21353f4fbc
As Danger to ‘Roe’ Grows, Many Voters May Not Even Know That Abortion Is Legal
Sep 20, 2018
Rachel K. Jones
Up to one in five U.S. voters may not know what the law really is.
Ever since Roe v. Wade established the constitutional right to abortion, federal and state policymakers have been chipping away at what it really means for people seeking abortion care. Since 2011, states have passed more than 400 abortion restrictions. Now, with President Donald Trump’s promise to appoint justices to the U.S. Supreme Court committed to overturning Roe v. Wade (such as current nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh), the threat of government action to more fully undermine abortion access looms large.
Anthony Kennedy’s retirement puts abortion rights at risk
The departure of Kennedy, long a swing vote on the Supreme Court, is an opening for the anti-abortion movement.
By Dylan Matthews
Jun 27, 2018
Anthony Kennedy, the longest-serving member of the Supreme Court, is retiring.
Within minutes of his announcement, CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin tweeted this: “Anthony Kennedy is retiring. Abortion will be illegal in twenty states in 18 months. #SCOTUS.”
Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but Kennedy has, since at least 2005, been the swing vote on many of the Court’s most ideologically charged decisions — including preserving Roe v. Wade.
Differences in Abortion Service Delivery in Hostile, Middle-ground and Supportive States in 2014
Rachel K. Jones,Guttmacher Institute
Meghan Ingerick,Guttmacher Institute
Jenna Jerman,Guttmacher Institute
First published online: January 12, 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2017.12.003
Objectives
In 2013, the majority of women lived in states considered hostile to abortion rights, or states with numerous abortion restrictions. By comparison, 31% lived in supportive states. This study examined differences in abortion service delivery according to the policy climate in which clinics must operate.
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