The Supreme Court -the highest court in the country- gave freedom to the 50 US states on Friday to ban abortion in their jurisdictional territory and half of them are on the way to making it effective.
automatic ban
Thirteen states, mainly from the South and the Center – the most religious and conservative – have adopted in recent years the so-called “zombie” or “trigger” laws, drafted to take effect automatically in the event of a change in the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court.
Those laws prohibit abortion with nuances: for example, Idaho provides exceptions in case of rape or incest; Kentucky only in case of danger to the life of the pregnant woman; Louisiana contemplates up to ten years in prison for health professionals; Missouri up to 15 years.
In some states, such as South Dakota, they were to take effect “on the day” of the decision.
In others, like Arkansas or Mississippi, the attorney general will first have to confirm that the court has changed the legal framework.
Finally, in the cases of Texas or Tennessee, both have a period of 30 days between the publication of the sentence and the entry into force of the new prohibition.
restrictions
Four other states (Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, and South Carolina) have laws that ban abortions as soon as the embryo’s heartbeat is felt, around six weeks into the pregnancy, when most women don’t yet know they’re pregnant. they are pregnant
These regulations, blocked by the courts because they violated the legal framework in force until now, can now enter into force.
Confusion
Several states have laws written before the landmark ruling known as “Roe v. Wade,” which in 1973 established the right of American women to have abortions.
Suspended for almost 50 years, theoretically those regulations could be reactivated immediately, although nothing is certain.
Taking note of the legal risk, the powerful organization Planned Parenthood has not planned any abortions since the end of June in Wisconsin, whose Democratic governor defends the right to abortion but the Republican parliamentary majority does not.
In Michigan, Attorney General Dana Nessel (Democrat) added to the general confusion by vowing not to prosecute people who violate the 1931 law if it goes back into effect. That state runs the risk of becoming a complex mosaic.
On his side, in Arizona, Republican Governor Doug Ducey believes that a law approved in 2022 to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy will prevail over previous texts, but the senators of his party do not see it that way and the courts They should clarify the situation.
to watch
Four states, according to the Guttmacher Institute, have sent signals unfavorable to abortion, but currently do not have laws prohibiting it. Projects that went in this direction were rejected by the parliaments of Nebraska and Indiana. In turn, those of Montana and Florida have reduced the legal terms to interrupt a pregnancy, but the supreme courts of both states currently protect the right to abortion in their jurisdiction.
protective states
Twenty-two states, mainly on the West Coast and in the Northeast, will maintain abortion rights, and some have even taken steps to expand access to abortions, including allowing more health professionals to perform abortions or an increase in funds allocated to clinics.
