In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a 1973 Supreme Court ruling that affirmed Americans’ right to abortion services. In its new ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the court affirmed the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi law banning abortion after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy and removed the constitutional right to an abortion, returning the power to individual states to enact their own restrictions. Six of the nine justices, including three appointed by former President Trump, voted for the decision in Dobbs with five voting in favor of overturning Roe, reflecting a change in the political balance on the Court.
Thirteen states (Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, West Virginia) have now banned all abortions and Georgia has banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, before many people are aware they are pregnant. Four other states have banned abortion after 15–20 weeks of pregnancy (Arizona, Florida, Utah, and North Carolina). Judges in five other states (Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming) have blocked abortion bans while 21 states have added new protections for abortion rights. Advocates for abortion rights are pursing challenges at the state level using multiple strategies including arguments on broad state constitutional grounds as well as contending that abortion restrictions violate the right to health care (an amendment added to several state constitutions after the passage of the Affordable Care Act) and religious freedom.
There is also ongoing litigation in federal courts on access to “abortion pills” that include mifepristone and misoprostol. Abortion pills have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to terminate a pregnancy up to the 10th week and more than 100 scientific studies support their safety and efficacy.
Emerging research post Dobbs suggests there has been a decrease in the number of abortions nationally with increases in demand for abortion being seen in states where abortion is legal that border states where it is not. The Dobbs decision appears to have worsened disparities in access to reproductive health care, with many people either unable to obtain care or forced to travel long distances. Despite judicial actions nationally and in many states banning abortions, polling indicates that the majority of Americans support access to abortion. The aftermath of the Dobbs decision and the outcome of the legal battles over access to FDA-approved abortion pills will continue to alter the local and national political landscapes in the U.S. for years to come, as the right to reproductive health care continues to be debated and litigated.