Where abortion has been banned now that Roe v. Wade is overturned

03/23/2023 Health News

A total of 17 states have moved to ban or restrict abortion following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and end all federal protections for abortion.

Why it matters: At least 24 U.S. states in total are expected to ban abortions or heavily restrict access to them, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights organization.

As more bans go into effect, people seeking abortions have been forced to either travel hundreds of miles to another state that allows abortions or order abortion pills that are prescribed online and are delivered through the mail.
However, state lawmakers have already cracked down on abortion medications and may seek to prosecute people who cross state lines to get an abortion.

How it works: The Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe established the constitutional right to an abortion within the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.

The court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, a case challenging a Mississippi law on the grounds that it violated Roe and other precedents, overturned Roe and granted states the legal authority to ban the procedure at any point in pregnancy — including at fertilization.

Where abortions are banned:

17 states have banned or restricted abortion, as of Jan. 5: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

Shortly after Roe was overturned, a court lifted an injunction in Alabama on a near-total ban. The law is now in effect.
In Arizona, a 15-week abortion ban is currently in place.
Arkansas began enforcing a near-total ban shortly after the Dobbs decision.
Florida currently has 15-week abortion bans in place. It is expected that the state might adopt a more restrictive law during the 2023 legislative session.
The Georgia Supreme Court temporarily reinstated the state's six-week abortion ban, which had been struck down by a lower court, while they consider the merits of the lower court's decision.
The Idaho Supreme Court allowed a six-week abortion ban to take effect and refused to block the state's trigger ban, which has been in effect since Aug. 25.

The court definitively ruled that Idaho's constitution does not protect the right to an abortion, upholding the state's several bans.

In Kentucky, a judge took away an injunction that had been placed on the state's near-total and six-week bans, allowing for them to become enforceable.
A judge reinstated Louisiana's trigger laws, which took effect after the high court's ruling and were temporarily blocked.
Mississippi has a trigger ban in place that courts have refused to block.
Missouri's abortion ban became effective immediately after the Dobbs decision.
In North Carolina, a federal judge lifted an injunction on a 20-week ban that had been in place for over three years. The law is in effect.

The judge lifted the injunction on his own accord. Health providers and state officials had asked the court to keep the law blocked.

Abortions in Oklahoma have been unavailable since May 2022, when Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed into law a bill banning abortion that is enforced by lawsuits from private citizens.

Another abortion ban went into effect that makes abortions illegal unless necessary to save a pregnant person's life.

In South Dakota, a near-total ban is in effect.
In Tennessee, a federal court vacated an injunction blocking a six-week abortion ban, which had been granted nearly two years ago. The law is in effect in the state.

The state's trigger law went into effect on Aug. 25, 30 days after the Supreme Court's judgment was issued.

In Texas, the state's Supreme Court has allowed a pre-Roe ban to be enforced.

Additionally, the state's trigger ban took effect on Aug. 25, 30 days after the Supreme Court's judgment.

There is an 18-week abortion ban in place in Utah.
West Virginia enacted a near-total abortion ban that went into immediate effect in September 2022.

Where abortion bans are blocked:

Abortion bans are currently blocked in seven states: Arizona, Indiana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming.

In Arizona, an appeals court blocked the enforcement of the state's pre-Roe ban. The law does not have rape or incest exceptions, and only allows abortions to be provided if they're necessary to save the pregnant person's life.
A judge in Indiana temporarily blocked the state's near-total ban a week after it took effect, arguing that it violates the state's constitution.
North Dakota's trigger ban was set to take effect following the Supreme Court's ruling. However, it was temporarily blocked on Aug. 25 while a state judge considers a case brought by the only abortion clinic in the state, which has now moved to Minnesota.
In Ohio, a six-week abortion ban was allowed to take effect after Roe's fall. It was indefinitely blocked after abortion providers filed a lawsuit to challenge the law arguing that the "fundamental right to an abortion" was guaranteed under the Ohio Constitution.
The South Carolina state Supreme Court struck down a six-week abortion ban in the state, asserting that such a law violates the South Carolina Constitution.
Utah's trigger law took effect shortly after the Supreme Court released its ruling overturning Roe, but it has since been temporarily blocked.
While Wyoming's trigger law took effect a month after Dobbs, just hours after it became active, a state judge temporarily blocked the law. The judge sided with health providers who sued the state arguing that the ban violated the state's constitution.

Go deeper: Where abortion access is guaranteed without Roe v. Wade

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