Abortion in Alabama

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Abortion in Alabama is illegal. [1] Historically, Alabama's abortion laws have evolved from strict regulations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to a period of liberalization following the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade , which legalized abortion nationwide. However, Alabama has consistently enacted legislation aimed at restricting access to abortion.

Contents

In May 2019 Alabama passed one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws, the Human Life Protection Act. This law sought to ban most abortions at any stage of pregnancy, with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest, only allowing abortions if there was a serious health risk to the mother. [2] The law was granted an injunction until June 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , allowing the Act to go into effect. [3] The remaining three abortion clinics in the state were ordered to cease operating. [4]

Abortion regulations in Alabama also include mandatory waiting periods, parental consent requirements for minors, and stringent guidelines for abortion clinics that many advocates argue are designed to limit the availability of abortion services in the state. In 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos should be considered children. The Constitution of Alabama contains an explicit ban on abortion funding. [5]

Abortion remains a divisive issue in Alabama, with a 2014 survey by Pew Research Center concluding that 58% of surveyed adults in the state believe abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, and 37% indicating it should be legal. A strong correlation was observed between the opposition to abortion and conservative political views. [6] The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 54% of Alabamans said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. [7]

History

In Alabama between 1892 and 1935, there were 40 prosecutions and five convictions of women having abortions. [8]

Legislative history

Status of the "heartbeat bills", i.e. abortion bans at around 6 weeks, by state (exceptions not marked): .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Heartbeat bills supplemented or rendered moot by abortion bans at all stages Abortion bans at all stages, but heartbeat bills blocked Other states with abortion bans at all stages, or states without abortion providers Heartbeat bill in force, without total abortion bans Heartbeat law partially passed by state legislature Law passed but blocked or struck down by court order Heartbeat Bill.svg
Status of the "heartbeat bills", i.e. abortion bans at around 6 weeks, by state (exceptions not marked):
  Heartbeat bills supplemented or rendered moot by abortion bans at all stages
  Abortion bans at all stages, but heartbeat bills blocked
  Other states with abortion bans at all stages, or states without abortion providers
  Heartbeat bill in force, without total abortion bans
  Heartbeat law partially passed by state legislature
  Law passed but blocked or struck down by court order

By the end of the 1800s, all states in the nation except Alabama had therapeutic exceptions in their legislative bans on abortions. [8] In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion targeted protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths abortions caused. [8]

By the end of 1972, Mississippi allowed abortion only in cases of rape or incest, and Alabama and Massachusetts allowed abortions only in cases where the woman's physical health was endangered. In order to obtain an abortion during this period, women would often travel from a state where abortion was illegal to states where it was legal. [9]

Judicial history

The 1973 Supreme Court of the United States's decision in the Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester. [8]

A 2016 Alabama law banned dilation & evacuation (D&E) which is the most common abortion procedure used in the second trimester. [10] In August 2018, the Eleventh Circuit court ruled the D&E legislation to be unconstitutional, blocking it from enforcement. [11] The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal in its 2019 term. [12]

On February 6, 2019, Ryan Magers filed a wrongful death lawsuit against an abortion clinic, Alabama Women's Center, after his girlfriend had a then-legal elective abortion in January 2017. Magers also sued three employees of the clinic and the pharmaceutical company that manufactured the medication used to induce the abortion. Madison County Probate Judge Frank Barger recognized the status of the unborn fetus as a person on March 4, 2019, in accepting the case. [13]

In May 2019, Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union both said they would challenge Alabama's recently- enacted abortion ban in the federal courts. [14] In June 2019, it was reported that a woman, Marshae Jones, whose pregnancy was terminated after she was shot in the stomach in 2018 during a fight, was arrested on grounds of manslaughter of the fetus, [15] though the case was eventually dismissed.

On February 16, 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos used for in vitro fertilisation should be considered children. [16] The UAB Hospital and other providers ended their IVF treatments in response. [17] This is because couples are now allowed to create a lawsuit for the wrongful death of their embryos. This ruling raises questions about the status of frozen embryos, including whether they can be destroyed and the implications for pre-implantation genetic testing. The decision also intersects with broader debates around abortion and reproductive technology. [18] On October 7, 2024, the United States Supreme Court declined to review the case. [19]

Clinic history

Total abortion clinics in Alabama by year Total abortion clinics in Alabama by year.png
Total abortion clinics in Alabama by year

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in Alabama decreased by 25 clinics, going from 45 in 1982 to 20 in 1992. [20] In 2014, there were five abortion clinics, [21] and 93% of the counties in the state did not have any clinics, [22] leaving 59% of women in the state aged 15–44 without access to a local abortion clinic as of that year. [22] In 2017, there were two Planned Parenthood clinics, both of which offered abortion services, in Alabama which at the time had a population of 1,117,288 women aged 15–49. [23]

In March 2019, there were five abortion clinics in Alabama, all of which were located in urban areas — Birmingham, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Mobile and Montgomery. [24] Of the five clinics operating in March 2019, one was only open on weekends. [24]

In 2019, the Yellowhammer Fund provided financial assistance (paying for their abortions) to women at three abortion clinics in Alabama. [25] In May and June of that year, Alabama's abortion clinics were receiving regular calls from women inquiring whether they could obtain a legal abortion as legislative changes resulted in confusion over abortion rights in the Alabama. [26]

As of 2021, only three abortion clinics remained in Alabama: West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa, Reproductive Health Services in Montgomery, and Alabama Women's Center in Huntsville. [27] Currently, Alabama restricts advertising of abortion clinics. [28] In order for abortion clinics in Alabama to remain in business at that time, they had to abide by abortion-care policies. Alabama passed additional medically unnecessary codes, and required that they be followed in order to operate an abortion clinic. [29] In some cases codes were passed to target specific clinics; for example, a 2016 law was enacted that prohibited abortion clinics from renewing their current license if the clinic was within 2,000 feet of an elementary or middle school to target a specific clinic. [29] Clinics must have access to a hospital in the same geographical area as the abortion facility. [29]

As of 2022, Alabama's three remaining abortion clinics have been ordered to stop all abortion procedures. [4]

Alabama and cardiogenesis

In 2006, Alabama was one of 23 states to have a detailed abortion-specific informed consent requirement. [30] By law, abortion providers in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi were required to perform an ultrasound prior to providing women with an abortion, despite that an ultrasound in the first trimester has no medical necessity. [31] In 2013, state Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law applied to medication induced abortions and private doctors' offices in addition to abortion clinics. [32]

Alabama was one of five states nationwide that tried, and failed, to pass a so-called 'fetal heartbeat bill' [note 1] in 2014. [33] House Bill 490 prohibiting abortions once a cardiogenesis or "fetal heartbeat" is detected passed the Lower House (73–29) on March 4, 2014. [34] The bill later died in committee. [35] Despite this, Alabama's Lower House was the first state in the nation to pass such a bill. [34] The Alabama state legislature tried and failed in 2015, 2016, and 2017 to pass a fetal heartbeat bill, each time being joined by two, three, and seven other states respectively. [33]

As of March 2019, the law required women wait 24 hours after their initial consult before they could obtain a second appointment for the actual procedure. [24] State law at the time prohibited state-funded health insurance companies from offering abortion services unless the life of the woman was at risk, or the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. [24]

One of the most active years for state legislatures in terms of trying to pass abortion rights restrictions was 2019. State governments with Republican majorities began to push these bills after conservative Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed as a US Supreme Court judge, replacing the more liberal Anthony Kennedy. These state governments generally saw this as a positive sign that new moves to restrict abortion rights would face less resistance from the courts. [36]

The Alabama Human Life Protection Act

The most recent act relating to the abortion in Alabama is "The Alabama Human Life Protection Act" also known as the Human Life Protection Act. Formally, the act has the name of House Bill 314. The bill was drafted by the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition. [37] The bill, which banned abortions at every stage of pregnancy and made it a crime for doctors to perform the procedure (except in the case of a medical emergency), was introduced into the Lower House on April 2, 2019. The bill passed the Lower House on April 30, [8] the Senate on May 14, [9] and was signed into law by then-Governor Kay Ivey on May 16, 2019. [10]

Formerly, abortion was allowed in cases of incest or rape. With the introduction of the Human Life Protection Act, these cases were no longer exempt. Additionally, cases in which mothers faced mental illness were declared insufficient to provide an exception. [38] These restrictions made the bill one of the most aggressive anti-abortion laws in American history. [38] Although the bill was approved by Alabama legislators, then-Governor Kay Ivey recognized that its aggressiveness would most likely not be approved in the federal court due to Roe v. Wade . [38] Despite this, Alabama legislators hoped the introduction of the bill could weaken pre-existing abortion protections.

Shortly after the introduction of the Human Life Protection Act, Planned Parenthood and ACLU of Alabama filed a lawsuit to challenge the anti-abortion bill on May 24, 2019. Serving as plaintiffs to the case were the three remaining abortion clinics in Alabama: Alabama Women's Center, Reproductive Health Services, and the West Alabama Women's Center. [39]

The controversial bill was set to go into effect on November 15, 2019. However, on October 29, 2019, the bill was blocked by the federal court. [37] US District Judge Myron Thompson granted a preliminary injunction on October 28, 2019, until the court was able to resolve the case in full. Federal judge Myron H. Thompson declared the bill defied previous rulings seen in Roe v. Wade and the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, Judge Thompson expressed that the bill could cause "serious and irreparable harm", referring to the Planned Parenthood Southeast v. Strange lawsuit from 2014 that identified a near-total ban as adding a financial burden to women and their need to access abortion services. [40] As a result of this need, women are more likely to take unsafe measures to end pregnancies. [40] Judge Thompson lifted the injunction after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, allowing the law to go into effect. [41]

Statistics

Between 1972 and 1974, Alabama had an illegal abortion mortality rate of 0.1 and 0.9 per million women aged 15–44. [42] In 1990, 456,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy. [20] In 2010, the state had nine publicly-funded abortions, none of which were federally or state funded. [43]

In 2014, 59% of women in Alabama lived in a county without an abortion clinic. There was an average of one abortion clinic every 10,483 square miles that year. [24]

In the year following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, 210 pregnant women in a dozen states were criminally charged for conduct associated with their pregnancy, pregnancy loss or birth. Six states — Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas — accounted for most cases. [44]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996 [45]
Census division and stateNumberRate % change 1992–1996
199219951996199219951996
Total1,528,9301,363,6901,365,73025.922.922.9–12
East South Central54,06044,01046,10014.91212.5–17
Alabama17,45014,58015,15018.21515.6–15
Kentucky10,0007,7708,47011.48.89.6–16
Mississippi7,5503,4204,49012.45.57.2–42
Tennessee19,06018,24017,99016.215.214.8–8
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC Estimates
LocationResidenceOccurrence % obtained by out-of-state residentsYearRef
No.Rate^Ratio^^No.Rate^Ratio^^
Alabama------13,358142159.31992 [46]
Alabama------14,2211523612.31995 [47]
Alabama------13,8261422914,61996 [48]
Alabama7,8938.21338,0808.413617.72014 [49]
Alabama6,6186.91115,8996.29913.12015 [50]
Alabama6,9867.31186,6427.011216.82016 [51]
^number of abortions per 1000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1000 live births

Abortion incidents

Roughly 862,320 US abortions occurred in 2017, with .7% occurring in Alabama account. Although over 6,110 abortions occurred in Alabama in 2017, not all were performed on Alabama residents. Residents of other states traveled to Alabama for abortions, and some Alabama residents traveled to other states for abortions. Between 2014 and 2017 the Alabama abortion rate declined from 8 to 6 abortions per 100,000 women, a 25 percent decrease.

Restrictions on abortion

As of June 24, 2022, with the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion in Alabama became illegal except when the life of the pregnant individual is in danger. There are not exceptions for rape or incest. [52] On August 28, 2023, attorneys for Attorney General Steve Marshall wrote in a court filing that the attorney general will prosecute those who help a pregnant person leave the state to get an abortion. [53]

Although there is supposedly an exception to the abortion ban in the case of fatal fetal abnormalities, the exception has not been used because doctors do not want to risk losing their medical license or facing jail time, meaning that patients have to leave the state in order to receive an abortion regardless. [54]

Abortion rights views and activities

Views

Abortion is a divisive issue in the state, with 37% of adults believing it should be legal in all or most cases and 58% believing it should be illegal in all or most cases in 2014. [55] [56] According to a 2014 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) study, 60% of white women, the same percentage as white men, in the state believed that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. [57]

In 2018 Alabama, fifty-nine percent of Alabamians voted in favor of a state constitutional amendment declaring the state's policy to recognize the rights of the unborn. [58]

Politically, the Alabama Executive Governor, Senate, and House report a majority of anti-abortion views. [28] In recent years, white evangelical women have played a major role in helping Republican male anti-abortion rights candidates get elected. [57] One of the biggest groups of women who oppose legalized abortion in the United States are southern white evangelical Christians. [57]

With states like Alabama and Georgia passing restrictive abortion laws in early 2019, some businesses announced they would boycott these states. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said that these boycotts would likely mean two tech companies would not base themselves in the city. Other states moved to try to take advantage of this political situation, including New Jersey, where Governor Phil Murphy related a statement that said, "New Jersey is open for business for any company that, given the assault on a woman's right to choose perpetrated by states like Alabama and Georgia, is seeking a home that recognizes basic constitutional rights. [...] New Jersey offers not only a hospitable business climate, but also maintains its progressive values, which include defending a woman's right to choose." [59]

Yellowhammer Fund President Amanda Reyes said in 2019, "Republicans don't have fewer abortions than Democrats or liberals or anarchists or communists. It's that our political rhetoric paints people who have abortions as largely the same—poor women, young women, irresponsible women, women who hate children. [...] It's gotten us to a point where we can't see the fact that we're all having abortions, and we're doing it for reasons we personally think matters—and that's all that matters. Pro-life women are having abortions, too." [25]

Organizations

The Yellowhammer Fund is an organization that financially assists women in Alabama who are seeking an abortion but have difficulty paying for one. [25] In May 2020, The Yellowhammer Fund purchased West Alabama's Women Center from retiring owner, Gloria Gray. [60] The organization purchased the clinic to ensure it would continue providing abortion services to the area. Yellowhammer Fund is currently striving to add additional services to the clinic, including hormone therapy for transgender people, midwifery and doula care, and gynecological care. [60]

People Organizing for Women's Empowerment and Rights House (P.O.W.E.R. House) houses the Montgomery Area Reproductive Justice Coalition. It currently serves as Montgomery's only abortion clinic. Additionally, the clinic provides transportation and housing to those in need of these services. [61]

American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama (ACLU) is an organization striving to protect the right to abortion for all people. [62] ACLU's work centers around the courtroom to stop extreme attacks to women's reproductive rights. [63] Additionally, ACLU ensures governmental policies provide access to affordable contraception options.

Donations

After Alabama passed its abortion legislation in 2019, The National Network of Abortion Funds received more than US$262,000 in donations from more than 12,000 people. [64] Yellowhammer Fund also saw a surge in donations. Because of fundraising efforts by a single activist, the organization earned close to US$30,000 in donations in a three-hour period. [64]

Protests

On May 19, 2019, women from Montgomery participated in an abortion rights march, the "March for Reproductive Freedom", [65] outside the Alabama Capitol building as part of a #StoptheBans rally, a protest against the new abortion law signed by Governor Kay Ivey a week prior. [66] [67] In conjunction to this protest, other Alabama protests took place in Birmingham, Huntsville, and Mobile on May 19, 2019. [25] The Birmingham rally was held in Kelly Ingram Park and had 2,000 supporters. [65] The rally in Huntsville had support from 1,000 people and was held in Butler Green Park. [65] Mobile hosted two rallies, one in Bienville Square and the other in downtown Mobile. [65] A smaller rally supporting the movement was held in Florence, Alabama. [65]

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, in Alabama abortion rights protesters marched from the Alabama Department of Archives and History to the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery on June 26. [68] Protests were also held in Birmingham, [69] Huntsville, [70] and Mobile. [71]

Anti-abortion views and activities

Activities

North Jefferson Women's Center is a non-profit family planning clinic in Fultondale that opposes abortions. In 2019, they sought funds for a new ultrasound machine to assist pregnant women using their services. Unable to pay for it on their own, the Southern Baptist organization The Psalm 139 Project donated the funds to support the clinic, which teaches that life begins at conception. The North Jefferson Women's Center will never refer women to an abortion provider, even if the pregnant woman desires such information. [26]

The Southern Baptist Convention held their annual convention in Birmingham in June 2019. The timing was coincidental with the efforts in the state to restrict legal abortion access, but opposing legal abortions was part of their planned two-day discussion. [26]

An anti-abortion van parked outside of an abortion clinic Black - Abortion protester van (418307013).jpg
An anti-abortion van parked outside of an abortion clinic

Violence

On May 12, 1984, two men entered a Birmingham, Alabama clinic on Mother's Day weekend shortly after a woman opened the doors at 7:25 A.M. Forcing their way into the clinic, one of the men threatened the woman not to prevent the attack while the other, wielding a sledgehammer, did between US$7,500 and US$8,500 of damage to suction equipment. The man who damaged the equipment was later identified as Edward Markley. Markley is a Benedictine priest who was the Birmingham diocesan Coordinator for Pro-Life Activities. Markley was convicted of first-degree criminal mischief and second-degree burglary. His accomplice was not identified.

The following month, June 15, 1984, Markley entered a women's health center in Huntsville, Alabama. [72] Kathryn Wood, one of the workers, received back injuries and a broken neck vertebrae while preventing Markley from splashing red paint on the clinic's equipment. Markley was convicted of first-degree criminal mischief, one count of third-degree assault, and one count of harassment in the Huntsville attack. [73]

Between 1993 and 2015, 11 people were killed at American abortion clinics. [74] The anti-abortion group named Army of God claimed responsibility for Eric Robert Rudolph's 1997 shrapnel bombing of abortion clinics in Atlanta and Birmingham. [75] [74] The organization embraces being labelled Christian terrorists. [76] On January 29, 1998, Robert Sanderson, an off-duty police officer who worked as a security guard at an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, was killed while working at the clinic when it was bombed. Rudolph admitted responsibility for the bombing and he was also charged with three Atlanta bombings: the 1997 bombing of an abortion center, the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing, and another bombing of a lesbian nightclub. He received two life sentences for his crimes. [77] [78] [74] [79]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that:
    "Until the chambers of the heart have been developed and can be detected via ultrasound (roughly 17-20 weeks of gestation), it is not accurate to characterize the embryo's or fetus's cardiac development as a heartbeat."
    They also argue that the term 'fetal heartbeat' should be replaced with:
    ""Embryonic cardiac activity" before eight weeks of gestation and "fetal cardiac activity" after eight weeks of gestation"
    ACOG Guide to Language and Abortion

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">United States abortion-rights movement</span> Support for womens right to elective abortion

    The United States abortion-rights movement is a sociopolitical movement in the United States supporting the view that a woman should have the legal right to an elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy, and is part of a broader global abortion-rights movement. The movement consists of a variety of organizations, with no single centralized decision-making body.

    As of 2022, abortion in Missouri is illegal, with abortions only being legal in cases of medical emergency and several additional laws making access to abortion services difficult. In 2014, a poll by the Pew Research Center found that 45% of Missouri adults said that abortion should be legal vs. 50% that believe it should be illegal in all or most cases and 5% that do not know. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 55% of Missourians said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. According to a 2014 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) study, 51% of white women in the state believed that abortion is legal in all or most cases.

    Abortion in Illinois is legal up to the point of fetal viability. Laws about abortion dated to the early 1800s in Illinois; the first criminal penalties related to abortion were imposed in 1827, and abortion itself became illegal in 1867. As hospitals set up barriers in the 1950s, the number of therapeutic abortions declined. Following Roe v. Wade in 1973, Illinois passed a number of restrictions on abortion, many of which have subsequently been repealed. Illinois updated its existing abortion laws in June 2019. The state has seen a decline in the number of abortion clinics over the years, going from 58 in 1982 to 47 in 1992 to 24 in 2014.

    Abortion in Arkansas is illegal except when it is necessary to save the life of the pregnant individual. Doctors determined to have performed an abortion face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $100,000.

    Abortion in Connecticut is legal up to the point of fetal viability, or after that if necessary to preserve the life or health of the pregnant individual. A poll by the Pew Research Center found that 67 percent of adults in the state believed that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 72% of people from Connecticut said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

    Abortion in Delaware is legal up to the point of fetal viability. As of June 2024, Civiqs polling found that 72% of Delawareans believed that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 23% believed it should be illegal in all or most cases. There was a therapeutic exceptions in the state's legislative ban on abortions by 1900. Informed consent laws were on the books by 2007. In 2017, Senator Bryan Townsend, D-Newark introduced legislation to try to make clear that abortion would remain legal in the state in case 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned. The legislation was subsequently updated. Attempts have been made to introduce mandatory ultrasound laws, but they failed to get out of committee. State legislators tried to move ahead the week at which a woman could get a legal abortion in 2019.

    Abortion in Massachusetts is legal, although terminations after the 24th week can only be performed if a physician determines it to be medically necessary. Modern Massachusetts is considered to be one of the most pro-abortion rights states in the country; a 2014 Pew Research poll found that 74% of residents supported the right to an abortion in all or most cases, a higher percentage than any other state in 2014. Marches supporting abortion rights took place as part of the #StoptheBans movement in May 2019. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 78% of people from Massachusetts said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

    Abortion in Minnesota is legal at all stages of pregnancy and is restricted only to standards of good medical practice. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled the Minnesota Constitution conferred a right to an abortion in 1995 and the DFL-led Minnesota Legislature passed and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed into law a bill in 2023 to recognize a right to reproductive freedom and preventing local units of government from limiting that right. The Center for Reproductive Rights labels Minnesota as one of the most abortion-protective states in the country.

    Abortion in Mississippi is illegal. The new law took effect on July 7, 2022, after Mississippi State Attorney General Lynn Fitch certified on June 27, the Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24 of that year. State Attorney General Lynn Fitch's certification made Mississippi's 2007 'trigger law' go into effect and ban all abortions in the state, “except in the case where necessary for the preservation of the mother's life or where the pregnancy was caused by rape".

    Abortion in New Jersey is legal at all stages of pregnancy. Abortion related laws were drafted by the legislature by the end of the 1900s. These laws would be addressed in court during the 1800s as they related to application in prosecutions of people who could become pregnant for having abortions. During the 1940s, hospitals created committees to approve abortion requests, with the goal of trying to reduce the number of abortions performed at them. Currently, there are no required waiting times, and parental consent is not required.

    Abortion in Tennessee is illegal from fertilization and provides no exceptions for rape, incest or the health of the pregnant individual. Tennessee's abortion legislation provides no explicit exceptions for the pregnant patient’s health. It makes an exception for an “affirmative defense” for emergencies, but the vagueness of what constitutes an emergency means that physicians hesitate to provide abortions even when the pregnant individual's life is in jeopardy. Attempts to codify the exceptions into law have been rejected by Republican politicians in Tennesse. Tennessee is among the four states which forbid abortion access through their state constitution; alongside Alabama, Louisiana, and West Virginia.

    Abortion in Utah is legally performed under a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the state's trigger law, which bans abortion. According to HB136, which is effective state law from June 28, 2022, abortions are banned following 18 weeks of gestation. Abortion was banned following the Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022. Utah State Legislation enacted SB 174 in May 2020, which, upon the overturn of Roe v. Wade, made inducing an abortion a second-degree felony. The law includes exceptions for pregnancies "caused by rape or incest," pregnancies that put the mother's life at risk, or "if two doctors say the fetus has a lethal defect." Rape and incest exceptions will only be viable if the crimes were previously reported to law enforcement officials.

    Abortion in the U.S. state of Virginia is legal up to the end of the second trimester of a pregnancy. Before the year 1900, abortion remained largely illegal in Virginia, reflecting a widespread trend in many U.S. states during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Abortion was viewed as a criminal act and subject to state laws that prohibited it. However, by 1950, Virginia introduced a legal therapeutic exception, allowing for abortion under specific circumstances, primarily when a woman's physical or mental health was at risk. Notably, the University of Virginia Hospital established a review board in 1950 responsible for evaluating and approving abortion requests, particularly those grounded in psychiatric reasons. This thorough approval process resulted in a significant decrease in the number of abortions performed at the hospital.

    Abortion in West Virginia is illegal except in cases of rape or incest, fatal fetal abnormalities, and when the mother’s life is at risk from a pregnancy.

    Abortion in Wisconsin has been legal since September 18, 2023, and is performed in Madison, Milwaukee and Sheboygan through 22 weeks gestation. However, elective abortions in Wisconsin are under dispute after the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 24, 2022. Abortion opponents cite an 1849 law that they claim bans the procedure in all cases except when the life of the mother is in danger. However, lower level courts have argued that the law only applies to infanticide and not consensual abortions. The enforceability of the law is disputed and being considered by the state courts. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced that they would resume abortion services in Madison and Milwaukee on September 18, 2023. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin later announced that they would resume abortion services in Sheboygan on December 28, 2023.

    Abortion in California is legal up to the point of fetal viability. An abortion ban was in place by 1900, and by 1950, it was a criminal offense for a woman to have an abortion. In 1962, the American Law Institute published their model penal code, as it applied to abortions, with three circumstances where they believed a physician could justifiably perform an abortion, and California adopted a version of this code. In 2002, the California State Legislature passed a law guaranteeing women the right to have an abortion "prior to viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman". In 2022, 67% of California voters approved Proposition 1, which amended the Constitution of California to explicitly protect the right to abortion and contraception.

    Abortion in New Hampshire is legal up to the 24th week of pregnancy as of January 1, 2022, when a new law went into effect. Prior to this, the gestational limit was unclear. Abortion was criminalized in the state by 1900. In June 2003, the state passed a parental notification law, repealing it four years later before passing a new one in 2011. New Hampshire then passed a law in 2012 which required minors to wait 48 hours after requesting an abortion but no longer required parental consent. New Hampshire law regarding abortion has been heard before the US Supreme Court in the case Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in 2006. The number of abortion clinics in New Hampshire has declined over the years, with 18 in 1982, 16 in 1992 and four in 2014. In 2010, there were three publicly funded abortions in the state; all three were federally funded. There are both active abortion rights and anti-abortion rights activists in the state.

    Abortion in New Mexico is legal at all stages of pregnancy. The number of abortion clinics in New Mexico has declined over the years, with 26 in 1982, 20 in 1992 and 11 in 2014. There were 4,500 legal abortions in 2014. There were 7 facilities providing abortion in New Mexico in 2017, and 6 of those were clinics. In 2017, 91% of New Mexico counties had no clinics that provided abortions, and 48% of New Mexico women lived in those counties.

    Abortion in Florida is generally illegal after six weeks from the woman's last menstrual period, This law came into effect in May 2024, being approved by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis following its passage in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate, with only Republican state legislators supporting and only Democratic state legislators opposing. Additionally, pregnant women are generally required to make two visits to a medical facility 24 hours apart to be able to obtain an abortion, in a law approved by Republican Governor Rick Scott in 2015.

    Abortion in Wyoming is currently legal due to a temporary court injunction.

    References

    1. ↑ "Alabama HB314 | 2019 | Regular Session". LegiScan. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
    2. ↑ ref name="2022 law"> "Alabama Code Title 26. Abortion prohibited; exception § 26-23H-4". CaseText. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
    3. ↑ Alito, Samuel. "19-1392_6j37.pdf" (PDF). Supreme Court Of The United States.
    4. 1 2 "Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall Statement on Overturn of Roe v. Wade". 2022-06-24. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
    5. ↑ "Alabama". Center for Reproductive Rights. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
    6. ↑ "Religious Landscape Study". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
    7. ↑ "Abortion Views in All 50 States: Findings from PRRI's 2023 American Values Atlas | PRRI". PRRI | At the intersection of religion, values, and public life. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
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    16. ↑ Epstein, Kayla (February 22, 2024). "Alabama IVF ruling: What does it mean for fertility patients?". BBC . Archived from the original on February 27, 2024.
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    18. ↑ Sharfstein, Joshua. "The Alabama Supreme Court's Ruling on Frozen Embryos". Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
    19. ↑ Rocha, Alander. "U.S. Supreme Court won't hear appeal from Alabama IVF clinics". Alabama Reflector.
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    34. 1 2 Mitra, A. G.; Laurent, S. L.; Moore, J. E.; Blanchard, G. F.; Chescheir, N. C. (July 1996). "Transvaginal versus transabdominal Doppler auscultation of fetal heart activity: a comparative study". American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 175 (1): 41–44. doi:10.1016/s0002-9378(96)70248-x. ISSN   0002-9378. PMID   8694073.
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