21 states poised to ban or severely restrict abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned
So-called "trigger laws" in 12 states would automatically enact an abortion ban if Roe is overturned. In nine others, bans that were blocked by courts or have long been unenforced could take effect.
When the Supreme Court hands down its decision in a highly-watched Mississippi abortion case this summer, access to legal abortion could end for more than 100 million Americans, including those living in nearly every Southern state and large swaths of the Midwest.
Twenty-one states are poised to immediately ban or acutely curtail access to abortions if the Supreme Court chooses to overturn or weaken Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that for nearly 50 years has guaranteed women's right to seek an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group in favor of abortion rights.
