By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and GEOFF MULVIHILL (Associated Press)
Abortion opponents are trying again to implement restrictions in the latest round of court and legislative action on the issue.
This round of efforts centers on states that have considered bans before and a policy that’s been bouncing around federal courts.
Here are some key things to know about the latest developments in the saga of how abortion policy will settle after the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to abortion.
PURPLE STATE POLICY
Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling, tighter abortion restrictions have been enacted in most Republican-controlled states and protections of abortion access have gone into effect in most that are dominated by Democrats.
In the 11 states where government control is divided between Republicans and Democrats, the story has not been so uniform. Virginia has kept its status quo, for instance, while Vermont has adopted a constitutional amendment to preserve abortion access and Louisiana and Kentucky have bans in place.
Change came quickly in North Carolina in April when one state lawmaker flipped from Democrat to Republican, giving the GOP enough votes to override gubernatorial vetoes.
Lawmakers promptly passed a ban that’s less restrictive than most — allowing abortion for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed it. But lawmakers on May 16 overrode that veto, so the ban will take effect July 1. The new law includes several other provisions that medical experts have criticized, including more medical and paperwork requirements for physicians, new licensing requirements for abortion clinics and increasing how many times patients must make an in-person visit to a physician ahead of obtaining the abortion pill.
TRYING AGAIN ON BANS IN NEBRASKA, SOUTH CAROLINA
Nebraska and South Carolina are both Republican-dominated states where GOP lawmakers have struggled to agree on the details of abortion bans.
Nebraska lawmakers finally struck a deal last week, agreeing to a ban on abortion at 12 weeks’ gestation as part of a measure that would also ban gender-affirming care for those under 19. Gov. Jim Pillen signed the bill Monday, and the abortion restrictions took effect immediately.
South Carolina lawmakers also made progress on a new ban just weeks after earlier efforts narrowly fell short on procedural votes.
The latest version, approved by the House, would ban most abortions around six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant. But some Republican state senators may not be on board with it, setting up the possibility of more debate and more negotiations between the two legislative chambers — and even a chance a deal is not reached.
COURTS STEP IN AGAIN IN MONTANA
Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a ban last week on dilation and evacuation abortions, which are normally performed in the second trimester of pregnancy. The issue quickly moved to the courts, where a judge within days temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the ban. A hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.
It’s not the only ban in the state before the courts.
Montana in 2021 adopted a broader ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but the state Supreme Court ruled that it will not enforce it pending a court challenge. That left some abortions legal until viability, around the 24th week.
COURT ARGUMENTS ON AN ABORTION PILL
Most of the legal battles on abortion since the Dobbs decision in 2022 have centered on whether individual state constitutions protect the right to abortion.
But at least one lawsuit has implications nationally.
An anti-abortion group sued seeking to rescind the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2000 approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in combination in most medication-induced abortions in the U.S.
A federal judge in Texas agreed. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments last week. In the meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court has said that mifepristone can remain on the market. It is already barred from being used in abortions, with some exceptions, in states with bans in place.
It’s not clear when the appeals court will rule. The case is expected to return to the nation’s top court eventually. The Texas-based case could be merged with one in Washington, where another federal judge ruled last month that mifepristone restrictions cannot be rolled back in a group of Democrat-led states that filed lawsuits.
THE TALLY
Fourteen states currently have bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, one when cardiac activity can be detected around six weeks, and three at 12 to 15 weeks. Of those 17 states with the tightest restrictions, 12 do not have exceptions in cases of rape or incest. They all have exceptions to save the life of the woman in at least some circumstances.
At least six states have bans that courts have paused.
One more state, North Carolina, has a ban after 12 weeks of pregnancy that doesn’t take effect until July 1.
The abortion bans also apply to prescribing pills to induce abortions. But only in South Carolina and Texas is it illegal to self-manage abortions.
