Abortion opponents are trying to re-impose restrictions in the latest round of US legislative and court action on the controversial issue.
This round of efforts revolves around states that have already considered restrictions in the past and one measure that is making the rounds in the federal courts.
By the Supreme Court in Roe v. Here are some things to know about the latest developments in the abortion policy saga after last year’s decision was overturned. Wade and abortion rights across the country.
Politics in states with similar levels of support for both parties
Since Dobbs’ ruling last year, tighter abortion restrictions have been enacted in most Republican-controlled states, while abortion access protections have gone into effect in most Democratic-majority states.
But the 11 states with divided control of government have not had a similar story. For example, Virginia has maintained its status quo, while Vermont enacted a constitutional amendment to preserve access to abortion, and Louisiana and Kentucky have restrictions in place.
There were rapid changes last month in North Carolina, when a state legislator switched from Democrat to Republican, giving the GOP enough votes to override the governor’s veto.
Lawmakers quickly passed a less restrictive ban than others, allowing abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The governor, Democrat Roy Cooper, vetoed it. But lawmakers overrode that veto on Tuesday, so the initiative will take effect on July 1. The new law includes several other provisions that have been criticized by medical experts, including increased medical and paperwork requirements for doctors, mandatory new requirements for licensing of abortion clinics, and limits on the number of face-to-face visits to patients. growth is included. Consult a doctor before taking the abortion pill.
New efforts to ban in Nebraska and South Carolina
Nebraska and South Carolina are two Republican-dominated states, but GOP lawmakers have struggled to agree on the details of abortion restrictions.
Both states are debating the restrictions this week, after weeks of narrowly failing procedural votes.
And both have less restrictive bills than the versions that were previously rejected.
In South Carolina, the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, bringing Republicans closer to ending a long-standing disagreement over restricting access. The proposal needs to go through the Senate again after the lower house has added a series of changes.
In Nebraska, lawmakers hesitated to introduce a ban after six weeks of pregnancy. The unicameral legislature is now debating a ban on abortion after 12 weeks’ gestation. The measure is included in a bill that would also ban gender-affirming care for minors.
The plan received the necessary votes in the state chamber, which is officially nonpartisan, to end the debate and schedule another vote to move it forward. Now it will have to go through the final round, which could happen as early as Thursday, before it can be cleared.
Restrictions in Montana
In Montana, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed into law Tuesday a ban on dilation and evacuation abortions, which are typically performed in the second trimester of pregnancy.
Hours later that day, Montana reproductive health services agency Planned Parenthood asked a state judge to temporarily block the law, arguing that it was unconstitutional.
And this isn’t the first challenge to governance in the unit. A judge ruled last month that she could not preemptively block the measure, before it was enacted.
In 2021, the state enacted a comprehensive ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but the state Supreme Court ruled that it would not enforce it until a challenge was resolved, legalizing abortion. It is kept till the time the fetus is delivered. Around the 24th week.
Legal Arguments About the Abortion Pill
Much of the legal battle since the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision has revolved around whether state constitutions protect abortion rights.
But one of them has an impact on a national scale.
An anti-abortion group filed a lawsuit in 2000 to rescind the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs combined for use in most drug-induced abortions in the United States.
A Texas federal judge agreed with the plaintiffs. The US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans heard the arguments on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the federal Supreme Court has said that mifepristone can remain on the market. In states with abortion restrictions, its use to end pregnancy is already banned, with few exceptions.
An immediate response by the appeals court is unlikely to be issued. The case is expected to eventually return to the Supreme Court. The Texas-based case could be merged with one in Washington, where another federal judge ruled last month that a ban on mifepristone could not be overturned in a group of majority-Democratic states that have filed lawsuits.
