Supreme Court’s abortion decision sparks immediate action from states

Abortion rights demonstrators protest the day after the US Supreme Court ruled in the Dobbs v Women's Health Organization abortion case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision (Photo: Reuters)
Abortion rights demonstrators protest the day after the US Supreme Court ruled in the Dobbs v Women's Health Organization abortion case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision (Photo: Reuters)

Summary

After Roe v. Wade is overruled, Republican state officials press ahead with tight abortion restrictions

The Supreme Court’s decision overruling Roe v. Wade triggered immediate responses across the U.S., as conservative states moved forward with new abortion restrictions, some clinics suspended service and advocates on both sides of the abortion debate girded for new state-level battles.

More than 20 states were poised to ban most abortions if Roe was overturned. Some of those prohibitions took effect right away, while others may take time as state officials sort out both practical and legal details.

Minutes after the Supreme Court announced its decision, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, said he issued an opinion allowing implementation of a state abortion ban, previously adopted by the legislature, that was triggered once the justices overruled Roe. The state law doesn’t make exceptions for pregnancies that result from rape or incest and makes performing an abortion punishable by five to 15 years in prison.

Missouri, he said on Twitter, “has become the most Pro Life state in America."

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem said nearly all abortions were now illegal as her state’s trigger law took effect. Planned Parenthood’s clinic in Sioux Falls, the state’s only abortion clinic, stopped providing abortions before the decision. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry likewise said his state’s trigger law banning most abortions has taken effect.

In total, 13 states have trigger laws that were designed to ban most abortions quickly if the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion.

“In the very short term there’s going to be a lot of confusion," said Rachel Rebouché, interim dean of the Beasley School of Law at Temple University.

Abortion providers across the country rushed to accommodate to new laws, consulting with legal counsel on their next steps. It wasn’t immediately clear how many clinics stopped providing abortions Friday.

“We’re all scrambling," said Jay Thibodeau, communications director for the Abortion Care Network. “This is chaotic."

Among the abortion clinics halting the procedure was Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La., said Kathaleen Pittman, the clinic’s administrator. The clinic—one of three in Louisiana—sits across the border from Texas and had seen an influx in patients after the Lone Star State implemented a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy last year.

“We have devastated patients already here today so we are concentrating on them and assisting them with their options," Ms. Pittman said in an email shortly after the court’s decision.

In Kentucky, EMW Women’s Surgical Center stopped providing abortions on the advice of its lawyers. The state has an abortion ban that is designed to take effect immediately.

“We have advised them to stop providing all care until our legal team has the time to analyze the entire opinion and how it relates to existing federal and Kentucky laws," said Samuel Crankshaw, a spokesman for ACLU of Kentucky. He said his organization plans to file a lawsuit in state court arguing the state’s constitution provides protections for abortion.

Kentucky Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron said the Supreme Court’s decision marks “a new era."

In states where the legal landscape is unclear, some clinics said they had stopped providing abortions for now. Wisconsin has a 1849 law banning nearly all abortions with an exception for the safety of the pregnant woman. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers previously said that the state’s attorney general would challenge the law if Roe were overturned. But before the court’s ruling, Planned Parenthood clinics in the state already had stopped scheduling abortions for after June 25, because of the existing state law.

Meanwhile, more liberal states took defensive action to protect women seeking abortions and providers who care for them. The governors of California, Oregon and Washington said Friday they were launching a multistate commitment to safeguard abortion access that includes protecting patients who travel from states where it is illegal. The states will also discourage local law enforcement from cooperating with out-of-state investigations and arrests related to abortion.

In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, signed an executive order Friday similarly aimed at protecting reproductive-health services, including for women who come from out of state to seek the procedure.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, said he would call a special session of the state’s legislature to add more protections for abortion rights. The state is one of more than a dozen others that have enshrined protections for abortion in recent years, and clinics there anticipate an influx of patients from states with new bans.

In Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sought to expedite legal efforts to overturn a 1931 state law banning abortion. In May, a state judge temporarily suspended enforcement of the law. Ms. Whitmer asked the Michigan Supreme Court to immediately consider whether the state’s constitution protects abortion. “The urgency of the moment is clear—the Michigan court must act now," she said.

In Washington, D.C., Attorney General Merrick Garland called the ruling “a devastating blow to reproductive freedom," but emphasized that women have the right to travel between states to seek an abortion.

“Under bedrock constitutional principles, women who reside in states that have banned access to comprehensive reproductive care must remain free to seek that care in states where it is legal," Mr. Garland said. “Moreover, under fundamental First Amendment principles, individuals must remain free to inform and counsel each other about the reproductive care that is available in other states."

There are several states with minimal explicit restrictions or protections for abortion. In those states abortion is expected to remain legal, although lawmakers could move to either protect or ban the procedure, according to Elizabeth Nash, a state policy analyst at the Guttmacher Institute, a policy group that supports abortion rights and tracks national abortion statistics.

The decision prompted emotional reactions around the country, with antiabortion groups celebrating the achievement of a goal they have worked toward all their adult lives and abortion-rights advocates mourning the loss of nearly 50 years of protections they viewed as sacred. By midday Friday several hundred protesters had gathered outside the Supreme Court.

“This is a fascist ruling. This is illegitimate," one abortion-rights protester yelled into a megaphone. “We need massive nonviolent mass outpourings of resistance across this country."

With another megaphone, one abortion opponent stood in front of “Goodbye Roe" signs and said, “This is a day of celebration for the pro-life generation."

With Roe’s demise in hand, antiabortion activists said they would push legislators in Republican-led states without strong existing bans to call special legislative sessions to pass new laws.

“We have built an army that tomorrow will go to state capitals around the country," said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a tweet Friday that he had called the state legislature back into session for July 6.

In some Republican-led states, officials began sorting out how to revive years of abortion restrictions that had been blocked by judges because of the Supreme Court’s protections of abortion rights.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, asked a federal appeals court to reverse a decision blocking a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy that the state passed in 2019.

In Ohio, a federal judge issued an order Friday allowing the state’s six-week ban to take effect. The law had been blocked by the courts for almost three years. The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups said they planned to file a new case on behalf of local abortion providers challenging the law in state court.

In moderate states including Florida, Virginia and North Carolina, Republican leaders might have to chart a more delicate path forward. In Virginia, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he has asked legislative leaders to introduce abortion legislation when the state General Assembly returns in January, suggesting he will be able to pass incremental new restrictions.

“We can build a bipartisan consensus on protecting the life of unborn children, especially when they begin to feel pain in the womb, and importantly supporting mothers and families who choose life," he said.

 

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