Ripple effects of the United States Supreme Court decision overruling Roe v. Wade on Friday were immediately seen across the country with states banning abortions alongside implementing extended healthcare programs for pregnant women and prompting abortion facilities to cease operations.
MedPage Today released an interactive map showing states where abortion bans have been quickly imposed since Roe was overturned on Friday. The United States Supreme Court Justices in a majority decision of 6-3 ruled on the constitutionality of states in imposing a ban on abortion for pregnancies 15 weeks and beyond.
This brought back to the states the power to decide on the issue of abortion as it was pre-Roe. This also immediately implemented in Mississippi the Gestational Age Act, the law challenged in the Dobbs V. Jackson Women's Health Organization case that the Supreme Court decided on last Friday.
States With Abortion Bans
The abortion bans were immediately implemented in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas after the Supreme Court decision was released. All of these states, except Ohio and Tennessee, ban all abortions except in cases where it is life-threatening for the mother to continue the pregnancy. Ohio and Tennessee imposed a limit for abortions after six weeks but also due to health risks to the mother.
Meanwhile, West Virginia and Wisconsin have laws banning all abortion before 1973 and will enforce them again. However, Wisconsin's law is pending implementation because Governor Tony Evers already opposed it though local legislators and officials approve of it. Arizona also implemented again their century-old abortion ban that was declared unconstitutional by courts after Roe.
There were several other states with trigger bans on abortion that immediately took effect on June 24 but were blocked by restraining orders filed by abortion providers including Planned Parenthood. These states are Louisiana and Utah.
In summary, this totals 11 states outrightly banning or severely limiting abortions and another 11 states with pending abortion laws for implementation.
Some of these states also imposed penalties for violators of the bans. NBC News reported that 29 state prosecutors have released a joint statement raising their dissent to prosecute violators. The media outlet emphasized that the joint statement included prosecutors from Mississippi.
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Besides Mississippi, prosecutors came from the pro-life states of Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas. The rest came from California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The joint statement is signed by a total of 84 prosecutors composed of state attorney generals and district attorneys. The statement raised the personal differences of the signatories on the issue of abortion yet conveyed in unison that "prosecutors have a responsibility to refrain from using limited criminal legal system resources to criminalize personal medical decisions. As such, we decline to use our offices' resources to criminalize reproductive health decisions and commit to exercise our well-settled discretion and refrain from prosecuting those who seek, provide, or support abortions."
The prosecutors explained that abortion bans would prevent them from holding perpetrators accountable and take away their resources that should have been for serious crime enforcement. They also wish to avoid victims of sexual violence from experiencing retraumatization out of being criminalized for committing abortion.
States With Extended Health Coverage For Mothers
In addition, Live Action News highlighted that most of these pro-life states already extended or are preparing to extend health care programs for women in support of the abortion bans. A total of 29 states have adopted Medicaid expansion coverage for mothers out of 38 states who provide pregnancy-related health programs. The extension of health benefits particularly caters to low-income mothers after giving birth. Some of these states include Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas.
The New York Times reported that many abortion facilities across the country had to close temporarily until they fully understand the extent of their state's abortion ban. Some abortion facilities had to halt midday and shun away clients on Friday while they consulted with lawyers regarding their operations. This included the Camelback Family Planning and Planned Parenthood in Arizona and Women's Health Center in West Virginia. While the Family Planning Associates Group has closed their clinics until further notice.
The abortion providers contested was the abortion ban immediately effective against their operations or would it allow them at least 30 days to prepare for it. Camelback Family Planning Owner Dr. Gabrielle Goodrick told the New York Times they fully stopped operations when the decision came out. Goodrick said they had to send home 40 people that day who then became hysterical because of it. The doctor shared that the Supreme Court's decision is "life-altering" and "devastating" for many women and families.
Planned Parenthood announced that the abortion ban will force them to close their clinics across the country. Catholic Answers Apologist Trent Horn pointed out Planned Parenthood's announcement is an admission of their clinics being "abortion mills" and not the "women's health centers" they proclaim to be. Horn explained that Planned Parenthood previously said that "abortion only made up 3% of their services."
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