Roe V. Wade Overturn Updates: Common Questions and What We Can Effectively Do to Help
June 24th was a devastating but mostly fearful, anxiety-inducing, powerless, and rageful day to all women in the U.S as on Friday morning the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a 6-3 ruling 50 years after the original decision in 1973.
Women woke up yesterday to experiencing a major historical set back in 2022 as mothers fear for their daughters, black, brown, and indigenous women think about their future and worry about the care and accessibility that is available to them as they will be affected the most, states having no exceptions for the already severely tramatized rape and incest survivors, undocumented women face stronger restrictions as they seek abortions, and those in trepidation for continuing a high risk pregnancy with a disability.
Source: WTTW News
where each state currently stands
Legal throughout pregnancy: Alaska, Colorado, District of Columbia, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont.
Legal up until 15-24 weeks after fertilization or menstrual period: Florida (15 week ban to take effect July 1), Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia (until third trimester).
Legal Until Viability (where a fetus can survive outside of the womb and viable at 22-24 weeks): Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Washington.
Banned and will be illegal after overturn: Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas.
Learn more here about what the overturn means for each state and their possible contingencies.
Source: WUNC
What are Trigger Laws? Which states have them?
Source: HuffPost
Trigger Law is another name for a law that is not enforceable but can be if key circumstances occur like Roe V. Wade being overturned which “triggers” the 13 states who passed their own abortion Trigger Laws to now being able to go into effect.
The thirteen states that can and will take effect automatically are Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Most of these states will allow abortion in the exception of rape, incest, and to save the life of a pregnant person. Eight out of the thirteen states–Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Louisiana, and South Dakota only make exceptions for abortion to safe the life of a pregnant person as these laws will be enforced as soon as either the states attorney general, legislative counsel, and governor make the certification.
If an abortion that does not include the exceptions is performed, each state has their own penalties that include a class 6 felony charges, imprisonment, high fines, or lincense suspended if a healthcare professional. For example, Louisiana has a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine between $10,000-$100,000, as in North Dakota whoever performs an abortion with be charged with a class B felony.
Is Plan B and Birth Control Affected at all?
No, we can safely say that birth control remains legal in the United States, the overturning of Roe v. Wade does not suggest that the Supreme Court would revisit any rulings on birth control, though many are confused on the comparison and usage of birth control and abortion; “That’s certainly something I’m concerned about” says Mara Gandal-Powers director of birth control access and senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center. What causes this misconception and worry is the law in Oklahoma that bans abortion the moment of fertilization which is what IUDs prevent as it stops a fertilized egg from implantation. To comfort those with the confusion of what contraceptive plays in these bans, the Oklahoma law doesn’t apply to contraceptives and morning after pills like Plan B.
Source: The Boston Globe
Is Traveling Out of State For an Abortion Still Allowed? What Can Happen to Those Involved?
Currently there are no abortion bans to prosecute women who cross state lines for an abortion. Women have the constitutional right to interstate travel but those assisting the woman seeking the abortion could be the one who gets in trouble. Those who assist the women like the person who drives across state lines or to the clinic and the doctor who performs the abortion could most likely get prosecuted rather than the woman themselves. However, the Texas law allows private citizens to sue out of state abortion providers, now Missouri is trying to pass the same law. “There’s no clear precedent saying that states can’t try to regulate out-of-state conduct if it has some effect in-state or if it [involves] one of their citizens,”said David Cohen, a professor of law at Drexel University’s Kline School of Law.
Recently, a Planned Parenthood in Fort Myers, FL has discussed the influx of patients they have been receiving from Texas. During this time the clinic has to adjust to their own restrictions as abortions were allowed until 24 weeks of pregenancy and now a new state law has banned most abortions after 15 weeks which has taken effect on July 1st even after the state judge’s order to temporarily block the ban.
Companies paying for abortion travel
Since the news of Roe v. Wade overturn, a list of companies have come out to offer new benefits that would either cover the abortion with the insurance that is offered by the company or reimburse the employee for the fees to travel. Some of the companies that have announced to their employees or through their spokesperson their new benefits in reproductive health: Accenture, Adobe, Bank of America, Buzzfeed, The Body Shop, Bumble, Lyft, Expedia Groups, Estee Lauder Companies, Impossible Foods, Patagonia, etc. Accenture has since mentioned their medical benefits, “Our current benefits include travel assistance for any covered medical services that are not offered locally (within 100 miles of your residence). We are helping cover our people’s travel expenses — from their cab ride to the airport to airfare and lodging.”
It is possible for there to be conflict with the companies and the states that ban abortion. It can be a huge and long legal battle between these companies and the state's republican legislators.
Source: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Can You Still Get Abortion Medication Through Mail?
It is quite difficult for the majority of states to enforce any prohibits on the mailing of abortion medication although there are 19 states that ban telehealth prescribing abaortion medication by instead enforcing the prescribers to be present when the drugs are administered which makes this process much more difficult for women. 30 states require the medication to be provided by a licensed physician and Texas bans the administration of the medication at 7 weeks while Indiana bans it at 10 weeks according to the Guttmacher Institute.
A medicated abortion is a 2-pill regime with Mifepristone and Misoprostol as more than half of U.S. abortions are done with the pills as it is more convenient depending on where you live and how far along you are with the increase of telehealth communication with doctors. Just The Pill is a company that delivers the pills to people in states like Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Minnesota and will continue to do so until the Wyoming ban comes into full effect. Dr. Julie Amaon the Medical Director of the company mentions the process if a state bans access to the medication, “You would then get the medication by pick-up at our mobile clinic or if you are in a state without mobile clinics, you would wait 1-2 days to have the medication mailed to a pick-up location.”
The Most Effective Way to Help Post Overturn
Here are some resources and ways to support/protect reproductive rights most effectively:
Donate to funds that help independent clinics and patients with transportation and lodging when traveling to receive care.
National Abortion Federation (NAF)
Abortion Care Network: To find up to date lists of providers in each state, funds, and information.