Abortion laws by state: Where abortions are illegal after Roe v. Wade overturned
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Abortion policy is in the hands of the states following the Supreme Court’s Friday decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
But it could take months for all the legal maneuvering to be completed and for the nation to have a more definitive picture over where abortion is legal, said Greer Donley, a professor specializing in reproductive health care at the University of Pittsburgh Law School.
Until then, Donley expects it will be difficult to explain to people the legal landscape on abortion, and she is concerned that the legal limbo will lead to “immediate total chaos” abortion patients and providers.
Most states with so-called trigger laws require the attorney general, governor or legislature to certify that the court’s opinion does, indeed, overturn Roe, include a delay of up to 30 days before they take effect, or both.
In other states, court action will likely be necessary to determine whether states’ pre-Roe abortion bans can take effect or enjoined laws restricting access to the procedure can be lifted, a process legal experts anticipate could take weeks to months. That means abortion will remain legal, at least in the short term, in places such as Ohio.
The 13 states with trigger laws also have different exceptions to their near-total bans. While they all allow abortions to save the life of the pregnant person, only five include exceptions for rape or incest.
There’s another group of states where pre-Roe abortion bans could spring back into effect.
For instance, abortion-rights advocates in Wisconsin believe the state’s pre-Roe ban will likely force abortion providers to shut their doors because of legal uncertainties around the statute of limitations, even though Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, who is running for reelection this year, has said he will not enforce the state law and has urged local prosecutors to do the same. Abortion-rights opponents in the state are anticipating legal challenges, too