Posted on 06/24/2022 11:24:48 AM PDT by lightman
Following the historic overturning of Roe v. Wade, clinics in multiple states have reportedly ceased performing abortions "immediately." However, Democrat-run states like New York won't change post-Roe. Here's where abortion is banned now and what Democratic strongholds will still be an uphill battle for the pro-life movement:
NPR national correspondent Sarah McCammon reported Friday she heard from some clinic sources in Louisiana, Kentucky, Texas, and Missouri that are halting abortions "immediately" in response to the Dobbs decision. McCammon also told Planned Parenthood has stopped carrying out abortions in Arkansas.
Louisiana
Abortion is illegal in Louisiana as of Friday after the landmark SCOTUS ruling. It’s one of 13 states in the U.S. with trigger laws in place, although most require a waiting period or further action for the bans to take effect.
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards signed Louisiana's trigger law on June 21 so that the reactive legislation "shall become effective immediately upon...any decision of the Supreme Court of the United States which overrules, in whole or in part, Roe v. Wade." Louisiana is "committed to protecting life and supporting moms," Democratic Monroe Sen. Katrina Jackson said after her bill updating the state's 2006 abortion trigger law was signed Tuesday by Edward. Jackson had authored the amendment declaring there is no right to and no funding of abortion in the state's Constitution that 62 percent of Louisiana voters had approved of in 2020.
That means all three of Louisiana's abortion clinics must shut down operations: Delta Clinic of Baton Rouge, Women's Health Care Center in New Orleans, and Hope Medical Group in Shreveport.
Louisiana law exempts pregnant women from facing prosecution but provides maximum criminal penalties for doctors or other abortion providers who terminate pregnancies of $200,000 fines and 15 years in jail for late-term abortions, according to local Gannett-owned newspaper Daily Advertiser.
The state's update to the trigger law was criticized by the White House after it was passed by the Louisiana Legislature. A June 6 statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre lambasted the legislative body for taking "the latest step in a growing attack against the fundamental freedoms of Americans."
Kentucky
For almost all circumstances, abortion is now illegal in Kentucky.
Back in 2019, the state legislature passed a trigger law to go into effect automatically should Roe fall. Kentucky's law makes it a Class D felony for anyone to provide procedural or drug-induced abortions in the state. The only exceptions are if an abortion is medically necessary to save the life of the mother or to prevent the permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ, according to NPR affiliate WFPL in Louisville.
The ACLU of Kentucky said in a statement that its client EMW Women’s Surgical Center, one of two abortion clinics in the state, "has stopped providing care while our legal team analyzes the court’s opinion and how it relates to federal and Kentucky laws." However, the ACLU and its partners plan to file a case in state court, arguing that the Kentucky Constitution allows for the legal right to abortion. "The ACLU of Kentucky is bringing everything it has to the fight for abortion access following this devastating ruling," ACLU of Kentucky interim executive director Amber Duke said in the statement. "We are mobilizing our members, supporters, and volunteers to show up at [the] statehouse and the ballot box to demand our rights to bodily autonomy."
Texas
Friday's opinion has triggered a complete abortion ban in Texas.
Last year, Texas lawmakers passed a trigger law on abortion to ensure that, should the Supreme Court repeal or scale back Roe v. Wade, Texas would outlaw abortion to the limits allowed by the court.
The state's trigger law set to go into effect in the coming weeks makes it a felony to perform an abortion at any point in pregnancy, except to save the life of a pregnant mother or if the patient risks "substantial impairment" of a major bodily function. Doctors who perform illegal abortions in the Lone Star State could face life in prison, fines of up to $100,000, and have their medical license revoked, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the ban will go into effect 30 days after the court issues a judgement in the case. "While it is clear that the Act will take effect, we cannot calculate exactly when until the Court issues its judgement," Paxton wrote in an advisory on Friday. Paxton marked the event by closing his offices statewide Friday and creating a holiday. A release from his office said the office closures, set to start at noon, are "in honor of the nearly 70 million unborn babies killed in the womb since 1973." June 24 will also be recognized as an annual holiday for the Office of the Attorney General because of the decision, the press release announced.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also celebrated Friday's ruling, applauding the Supreme Court for reinstating "the right of states to protect innocent, unborn children." Texas "will always fight for the innocent unborn, and I will continue working with the Texas legislature and all Texans to save every child from the ravages of abortion and help our expectant mothers in need," Abbott said in a statement posted to social media following the decision.
In contrast to the trigger law's criminalization of abortion, S.B. 8, the "Texas Heartbeat Bill" that gained fame among pro-life advocates and notoriety among pro-abortion activists, leaves enforcement up to the public and allows private individuals to sue doctors who perform illegal abortions and anyone who aids or abets an abortion.
Missouri
Missouri's trigger ban law was enacted Friday morning, making nearly all abortions illegal across the state. Abortion is only permissible under the state's trigger law if the life or health of a pregnant woman is in jeopardy.
The 2019 law passed by Missouri's Republican legislature states that "no abortion shall be performed or induced upon a woman, except in cases of medical emergency." The state's Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, signed an opinion Friday morning activating the trigger law. "With this attorney general opinion, my Office has effectively ended abortion in Missouri, becoming the first state in the country to do so following the Court’s ruling," said Schmitt, who is also running for U.S. Senate, in a press statement.
Anyone who performs an abortion there will be charged with a class B felon, and their professional license may be suspended or revoked, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research organization
"We will have to stop providing abortions at our clinic in St. Louis immediately" Planned Parenthood of the Saint Louis Region (PPSLR) spokesperson Bonyen Lee-Gilmore said in a Tuesday interview with The Kansas City Star, noting "it comes with criminal penalties." The abortion clinic in St. Louis, called the Reproductive Health Services of PPSLR, was the only one in the state of Missouri that provided abortion services.
Arkansas
Arkansas also has a law in place that triggers an abortion ban to take effect, making it illegal to perform an abortion or attempt to perform an abortion except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency. The punishment would be up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000, KHBS reported.
Passed in 2019, the state's trigger law was signed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson. "For decades I have said Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided. Today, the Supreme Court overturned the abortion ruling and returned the issue to the states. Arkansas is a pro-life state, and we are able now to protect life," Hutchinson wrote on Twitter.
Mississippi
Missouri's trigger law banning nearly all abortions went into effect immediately after Roe was overruled. In addition to its 15-week abortion ban at the center of the Supreme Court case, Mississippi has a six-week abortion ban.
Any individual who performs an abortion or attempts one will be charged with a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. There are similar exceptions, though, including if a pregnant woman's life is in danger or the mother is a victim of rape and has reported the sex crime to law enforcement.
North Dakota
There's a trigger law is in place to make abortion illegal across North Dakota. The Legislative Council must now approve a recommendation from the state's attorney general that the ban on abortion is constitutional.
The penalty for performing an abortion will result in a Class C felony. Exceptions are made for a pregnant woman whose life is in danger and in the instance of rape or incest.
Oklahoma
In Oklahoma, there's a near-total ban on abortion, but a trigger law exists to make abortion illegal with the overturn of Roe. It would only need certification from the attorney general. Abortion service will lead to a felony charge punishable by two to five years in prison if convicted.
Utah
Utah's trigger law is in place to make abortion illegal. The legislative general counsel must certify that the legislature can ban abortion before it goes into effect. Anyone who performs an abortion will be charged with a second-degree felony, except if a pregnant woman's life is in danger or at risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function, lethal fetal abnormality is found, or the mother is a rape or incest victim.
Wyoming
Wyoming's trigger law would require certification by the governor, as advised by the state's attorney general within 30 days of the Supreme Court ruling. Violating the provision subjects the abortion provider to felony punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
South Dakota
No further action is required for South Dakota's trigger law to go into effect. Anyone who provides or attempts to provide an abortion service will be charged with a Class 6 felony.
Idaho
Idaho's trigger law criminalizing abortion goes into effect 30 days after Roe is overturned. Anyone who provides or attempts to provide an abortion will be charged with a felony, punishable by two to five years in prison. Any health care professional who performs or attempts to perform an abortion will have their license suspended for at least six months after a first offense and permanently revoked after a second offense.
Exceptions cover a provider who performs medical treatment that accidentally terminates a pregnancy.
Tennesse
Tennessee's mechanism allows its trigger law to go into effect 30 days after the end of Roe is overturned with no further action required. Providing or attempting to perform an abortion will be a Class C felony. New York
In the case of New York, the so-called right to abortion is protected by updated state laws.
"Today the Supreme Court rolled back the rights of millions of Americans, disregarding their interests and — more importantly — their lives," New York's Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted Friday, after she signed sweeping legislation protecting access to abortion earlier in June. Abortion rights are theoretically protected by the 2019 Reproductive Health Act in New York. In the words of the state Senate, the point of the law was to "codify Roe v. Wade protections into state law." The bill was signed into law in early 2019. Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo celebrated the signing by having One World Trade Center lit up in pink that night. California
The pro-abortion state legislation is parallel in California. After the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic leaders in the state Legislature announced plans to add a constitutional amendment enshrining a right to abortion. The state Senate approved the amendment this week and it now heads to the state Assembly, where it will likely also pass given the Democrats have large majorities in both chambers. Once it clears the Assembly, it will appear on the November general election as a ballot measure.
In response to the pro-life legislation in Texas that caused a media firestorm, California's Senate also passed a bill Thursday to protect abortion providers and patients from bans, lawsuits, and penalties in other states.
God bless these states. My prayer is that Christ brings healing to our land and that more states come to their senses and ban the killing of unborn babies
Thank God.
Missouri and Texas already activated their trigger laws as well
Watch federal dollars for things such as disaster relief, public schools, infrastructure, etc. gets pulled from states that prohibit or restrict abortions.
I was not Christ like hoping Usurping Joe would have an accident while giving his “Murder ALL Babies” speech this morning. It was beautiful how he blamed Trump for the horror. Why the Catholic Church has not publicly excommunicated this murdering, corrupt, thieving, pedophile is beyond me!
I think you are right.
Can/should people who travel out-of-state to get an abortion (or facilitate) be charged with homicide/conspiracy to commit homicide on returning?
My prayer is that some of these same States actually start electing some real Conservatives to the Senate, instead of Uniparty backstabbers!
It just kills progressive democRATs that millions of black babies will now have the opportunity to be born.
Glory!
Yes, IDAHO!!
Sloe Xoe must think so because he stressed “preserving the right to travel” in his remarks.
Wasn’t that right pretty well trampled during the plannedemic lockdowns?
All Lives Matter
Can’t wait to see how many Planned Murderhoods close because of this.
They should all be burned to the ground.
With an assist to President Donald J Trump!
And Oklahoma has to give a big assist to Attorney General John O'Connor. O'Connor is in a tough primary against a rich guy with political ambitions
Now that Roe v Wade has been overturned, what are all the fake RINO republicans going to campaign on in the future?
Being outspokenly pro life was a good way to fool the Red State rubes into believing that they’re authentic conservatives. But now Trump’s SC picks ruined their long running scam. Never would have happened if Jeb won in 2016!
Amen to that.
Meanwhile, think about it. All these states are GOP strongholds.
No.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.