Pro-choice protesters at The Supreme Court.
It’s been one year since theoverturn ofRoe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision of 1973 that granted women the right to an abortion in every state.
In the year since, the following 20 states have enacted laws banning or restricting abortion access: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Most notably,Florida Gov. Ron DeSantissigned into law a ban against abortions after six weeks that won’t go into effect until 30 days after the state Supreme Court acts on a legal challenge against the original 15-week ban, according toPolitico. Under the law, abortions would be allowed only in cases to save a pregnant person’s life. Additionally, abortions from pregnancies resulting in rape or incest would be allowed until 15 weeks of gestation — but only if the woman has proof of a restraining order or police report.
In seven of those states — Arizona, Indiana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming — abortion bans are currently blocked due to ongoing lawsuits.
A women protesting for abortion rights outside of the Utah State Capitol.Rick Bowmer/AP/Shutterstock
Due to the changes in state laws since the end ofRoe v. Wade, the U.S. has seen a surge in demand for emergency contraception like Plan B One-Step, also known as the “morning after” pill.
There has also been a significant increase in the demand for abortion pills over the past year. Companies that prescribe abortion pills — after telehealth consultations — reported more web traffic and appointment requests following the overturn ofRoe v. Wade, including in states with “trigger” laws where abortion has already been banned or highly restricted.
“This is a paradigm shift,” Lydia Saad — director of United States social research for Gallup, the polling firm — toldThe New York Times. “There’s still a lot of ambivalence, there aren’t a lot of all-or-nothing people. But there is much more support for abortion rights than there was, and that seems to be here to stay.”
Today, there are 20 states where abortion is protected, and officials in many of those states — including California, New York, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Colorado — have evenpublicly invited womenfrom states where bans on the procedure are in place.
source: people.com
