Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why the Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t codify same-sex marriage rights

        Kate Sosin · December 8
      • The 19th Explains: Why baby formula is still hard to find months after the shortage

        Mariel Padilla · December 1
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Election workers believe in our system — and want everyone else to, too

        Barbara Rodriguez, Jennifer Gerson · November 8
      • Voter ID laws stand between transgender people, women and the ballot box

        Barbara Rodriguez · October 14
      • Emily’s List expands focus on diverse candidates and voting rights ahead of midterm elections

        Errin Haines · August 30

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News from reporters who represent you and your communities.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

The Texas State Capitol in Austin
The Texas State Capitol in Austin (Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)

Abortion

State lawmakers prepare for a future without Roe v. Wade

As the Supreme Court weighs the biggest abortion rights challenge in a generation, legislators are prepping bills that would exacerbate the divide between abortion deserts and access points.

By

Shefali Luthra, Barbara Rodriguez

Published

2022-01-13 12:00
12:00
January 13, 2022
pm

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

With federal abortion rights hanging by a thread, state legislatures across the country are preparing to enact a slew of new laws that could virtually eliminate access to the procedure in large swaths of the country.

Most legislatures have not yet convened for their 2022 legislative sessions, which typically begin in January and run through the spring. Lawmakers in conservative-led states are already planning, sometimes in conversation with anti-abortion groups, bills that would restrict abortion access. Groups that support abortion rights say they’re tracking policies that in some cases are an extension of previous fights and in others preview new territory.

“2021 was the worst year on record for state restrictions and attacks on abortion access,” said Kristin Ford, vice president of communications and research at NARAL Pro-Choice America. “2022 is likely to be even worse.” 

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

This is poised to be a particularly consequential year: States are also beginning to look toward how the Supreme Court may rule in its major abortion challenge, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. A decision is expected in June or July, and many observers believe the court is likely to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that enshrined abortion rights at the federal level, in its entirety. Doing so would mean states can determine individually whether abortion remains a protected right, and, if so, to what extent. 

“Everyone has the Supreme Court on their minds,” said Laurie Sobel, associate director of women’s health policy at the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. “There are states that want to be set up on either side of that. If abortion is allowed to be banned at any point of pregnancy, or at 15 weeks. Whatever the ruling is, they want to be set up.”

There are several major trends emerging around abortion legislation — in some states to constrain access to the procedure and in others to protect it — but one of the most prominent types of bills is inspired by one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws. 

Stories by experienced reporters you can trust and relate to.

Delivered directly to your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Several Republican lawmakers are crafting legislation inspired by Texas, which last year enacted Senate Bill 8, which effectively banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. That law, instead of criminalizing the procedure, empowered private citizens to sue anyone who may have helped another person get an abortion after six weeks. Successful litigants are eligible for at least $10,000 in damages.

So far, lawmakers in at least five states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri and Ohio — have introduced bills modeled after Texas’ six-week abortion ban. Bills in Alabama, Florida and Missouri have applied the civil liability approach to six-week bans. Both Arkansas and Ohio would institute it for any abortion after an egg is fertilized, which would effectively outlaw abortion at at any point in pregnancy. Many people don’t know they’re pregnant until after six weeks.

Meanwhile, legislators in at least seven other states — South Dakota, Indiana, West Virginia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana and Oklahoma — have indicated interest in passing similar legislation to Texas but have not yet introduced any such bills. 

  • More from The 19th
    Protesters carry pro-abortion rights signs and march.
  • Texas’ abortion law could stay in effect for months, appeals court suggests
  • Abortion bans could add hundreds of miles of travel to those seeking the procedures, analysis shows

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has previously expressed reservations about Texas-inspired six-week bans, this week indicated support instead for a 15-week ban that would criminalize the procedure, a proposal that also has support from the state legislature’s leadership. 

John Seago, the legislative director for Texas Right to Life, said the organization has been in communication with lawmakers in several states about similar abortion bans, though he declined to specify which ones. He said that after more than a decade of organizing, he’s never been more optimistic about policies to curtail abortion.

“There is a palpable sense of excitement and passion, where people finally think we are getting close to having the authority at the state level to protect innocent human life,” he said.

Some attorneys general and prosecutors have indicated they do not plan to enfoce abortion bans that rely on criminalization. So Seago said Texas Right to Life organizers are encouraging states to move forward with civil liability provisions in their abortion bans to avoid “a ban on paper but not in effect.”

“​​We need to overturn Roe, obviously, but then also adopt tools that will make sure your state legislation is actually followed,” he said.

This past December, the Supreme Court declined to weigh in on whether the Texas law specifically violated Roe v. Wade. It has said the law can be challenged in court — albeit on narrow grounds — but declined to block the law in the meantime. Ianthe Metzger, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said she expects conservative states to be emboldened by that decision. 

“I think that because of what the Supreme Court did, we could see abortion being banned in states by the end of the month,” she said.

Still more are preparing bills that would allow their states to ban abortion entirely if the Supreme Court does ultimately overturn Roe v. Wade. 

Katie Glenn, the government affairs counsel for the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life, said she is also working with states that have already passed restrictions that were blocked in lower courts, as well as those with “trigger laws” meant to ban most or all abortions if Roe v. Wade was ever to be overturned. 

Currently, 12 states have such laws passed, according to a tally maintained by the Guttmacher Institute. Two others don’t have such “trigger laws” but have indicated they intend to limit abortion to the fullest extent permitted by the court, and five more states without trigger laws still have unenforced abortion bans on the books that predate the 1973 decision. 

It’s not yet clear when or how many of those laws would take effect — if they would have an impact immediately or if they would have to be passed again or litigated in federal courts. Glenn said her team is working with attorneys general and governors in various states to figure out when and how various abortion restrictions could take effect.

Lobbyists and policy analysts said they also expect states to tackle greater restrictions on medication abortion, the two-pill regimen that allows someone to end a pregnancy without surgery. In December, the federal Food & Drug Administration changed its guidelines for the two-pill regimen, allowing the drug to be mailed to a patient’s home, rather than requiring it be administered in a doctor’s office.

The change was hailed by medical experts, who noted that the pills have exceptionally low complication rates. They have long argued the in-person dispensation requirement put the pills out of reach for people in rural areas in particular.

But already, states had enacted numerous restrictions around the dispensation of medication abortion. So far, 19 states require that a physician provide the pill in-person. A new Texas law that restricts the use of abortion pills after seven weeks of pregnancy went into effect in December.

Anti-abortion demonstrators march in Chicago.
Anti-abortion demonstrators attend the Rally For Life in Chicago on January 8, 2022. (Kamil Krzaczynski/Getty Images)

Glenn, of Americans United for Life, said medication abortion restrictions are emerging as a major topic of interest this year and one her organization is prioritizing.

“That is going to be an issue that is going to be the future abortion flight,” Seago said.

Meanwhile, many states with largely Democratic leadership are working to pass laws that would maintain or even strengthen abortion rights — with lawmakers in some noting that, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, their states could become destinations for people traveling out-of-state for the procedure.

In New Jersey, legislators have already passed a bill that would maintain abortion rights in the state even if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Colorado lawmakers are planning to push for similar protections.

In California, one of the few states where health insurance plans must cover abortion, the legislature will weigh whether to eliminate out-of-pocket costs for people seeking to end a pregnancy. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has also endorsed a proposal for the state to cover the cost for people with lower incomes who travel to California from out-of-state to receive an abortion. 

And in states including Rhode Island, some Democrats are trying to get rid of the restrictions that prevent state-run health insurance plans — Medicaid and health benefits plans for government employees — from covering abortion. That could be a meaningful area of focus for states trying to shore up abortion access, Sobel said.

“There’s many states that are protective but haven’t required coverage in insurance plans,” Sobel said. “That’s something from states I haven’t seen much of yet, but is something I’m thinking about.”

Metzger said Democratic lawmakers are finding new ways to challenge proposals or affirm protections even when they lack legislative power. She noted a ballot initiative effort led by abortion rights groups in Michigan that would codify abortion rights in the state’s constitution. In New Hampshire, Democrats in the minority have indicated plans to propose legislation that repeals new abortion restrictions that went into effect this month.

“I think there’s so much energy among legislators who are champions for reproductive justice to keep building public awareness and say, ‘Here is why access matters. Here are all the components of access to care.’ … We can be on the defensive and also be pushing for things that enable people to live a fully empowered reproductive life.”

Join The 19th on January 26 at at 1 p.m. ET for critical conversations on the rapidly changing landscape of reproductive rights around the country, as well as how limited abortion access could impact the health care system more broadly. Sign up today.

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Help sustain what we started

Your monthly investment is critical to our sustainability as a nonprofit newsroom.

Donate Today

Become a member

Up Next

Protesters carry pro-abortion rights signs and march.

Abortion

Texas’ abortion law could stay in effect for months, appeals court suggests

One of the most conservative appeals courts in the country heard arguments Friday on whether and how the lawsuit challenging Texas’ six-week abortion ban should proceed. 

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram