WHEN THE SUPREME Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, everyone knew the fallout—for women, for doctors, for U.S. politics—would be profound. “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” wrote Justice Samuel Alito in the majority opinion. With that, nearly 50 years of status quo surrounding abortion was ended. Dobbs torched the legal paradigm that had governed access across the nation since the Court’s infamous 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade and its 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Unsurprisingly, American abortion laws and access have been radically transformed since the Dobbs decision was released. As of September, in more U.S. states than not, abortion access is now reduced, threatened, or barely existent.
In the wake of the Dobbs decision, some red states rushed to pass new restrictions on abortion while others revived long-dormant statutes from a pre-Roe era or “trigger laws” passed more recently but only effective after Roe’s demise. As a result, abortion is now banned or severely restricted at all stages of pregnancy in 15 states. In addition, four states now ban abortion at some point within the first trimester, and three states ban it at some point between 15 and 18 weeks of pregnancy.
None of these bans would have been constitutional under Roe, which said abortion must be allowed until the point of fetal viability (around 24 weeks).
Other states have attempted abortion bans but have been thwarted by legal challenges. New or additional bans have been enacted but blocked—at least temporarily—in seven states.
Abortion remains legal until at least the point of fetal viability—and sometimes after—in 23 states, largely in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and West.
But the new restrictions have meant some women have had to travel out-of-state—sometimes quite far—to get an abortion. Some who would previously have gotten an abortion did not do so. An analysis by the Society of Family Planning suggests that between July 2022 and March 2023 alone, “there were 25,640 cumulative fewer abortions” than there would have been otherwise.
In addition, new restrictions have made obstetric care more difficult for doctors and women dealing with nonviable pregnancies or health-threatening pregnancy complications. While all bans so far contain exceptions for cases where a mother’s life is at risk, these exceptions don’t always encompass cases where continuing a pregnancy is incredibly risky. That means some women who may eventually need to terminate a pregnancy are being told they can’t do so until their condition gets worse.
Risk aversion by medical professionals here is understandable. Most of the laws banning abortion carry criminal penalties for doctors or other medical professionals who perform them. This may include jail time—life in prison is
