![]() | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(May 2022) |
A trigger law is a law that is unenforceable but may achieve enforceability if a key change in circumstances occurs.[ citation needed ]
In the United States, thirteen states, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, [1] South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, [2] Utah, and Wyoming, [3] enacted trigger laws that would automatically ban abortion in the first and second trimesters if the landmark case Roe v. Wade were overturned. [4] [5] [6] As Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, 2022, [7] some of these laws are in effect, and presumably enforceable, immediately. [8] Other states' trigger laws took effect 30 days after the overturn date, and others take effect upon certification by either the governor or attorney general. [8] Illinois formerly had a trigger law (enacted in 1975) but repealed it in 2017. [9] [10] [11]
Eight states, among them Alabama, Arizona, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as the already mentioned Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas, still have their pre-Roe v. Wade abortion bans on the law books. In North Carolina, a prohibition on abortions after 20 weeks (excepting medical emergencies) was passed in 1973 but unenforceable due to Roe v. Wade and a court ruling that it was unconstitutional [12] [13] until it was reinstated by U.S. District Judge William Osteen Jr. in August 2022. [14] According to a 2019 Contraception Journal study, the reversal of Roe v. Wade and implementation of trigger laws (as well as other states considered highly likely to ban abortion), "In the year following a reversal, increases in travel distance are estimated to prevent 93,546 to 143,561 women from accessing abortion". [15]
The Affordable Care Act allowed states to opt in to a program of health care expansion, which allowed more residents to qualify for Medicaid. The cost of this expansion was primarily borne by the federal government, but the percent paid by the federal government was scheduled to decrease each year, reaching 95% by 2017 and below 90% by 2021; the remainder would be assumed by the state. As of 2017, eight states had laws that would trigger an end to participation in Medicaid expansion, if federal funding fell below a particular level. [16] [17] [18] [ needs update ] Unlike abortion trigger laws prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, these are not unconstitutional at the moment and are only inactive because they rely on certain conditions to activate.
In the 2015 Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges , all state constitutional and statutory bans of same-sex marriage were made null and void. However, if the precedent was overturned it would restore the bans in thirty-five states. [19] In his concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should reconsider the Obergefell ruling. [20] Nevada became the first state to repeal its amendment banning same-sex marriage and recognize it in the Nevada state constitution in 2020. [21]
In July 2023, the Indianapolis City-County Council passed an assault weapons ban trigger law, which can only go into effect once the Indiana gun control state preemption law is repealed or invalidated.
Richmond, California has strict ordinances related to Rent Control that will take effect in the event that the statewide Costa–Hawkins Rental Housing Act is repealed. [22]
This is a timeline of reproductive rights legislation, a chronological list of laws and legal decisions affecting human reproductive rights. Reproductive rights are a sub-set of human rights pertaining to issues of reproduction and reproductive health. These rights may include some or all of the following: the right to legal or safe abortion, the right to birth control, the right to access quality reproductive healthcare, and the right to education and access in order to make reproductive choices free from coercion, discrimination, and violence. Reproductive rights may also include the right to receive education about contraception and sexually transmitted infections, and freedom from coerced sterilization, abortion, and contraception, and protection from practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM).
The legality of abortion in the United States and the various restrictions imposed on the procedure vary significantly depending on the laws of each state or other jurisdiction, although there is no uniform federal law. Some states prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy with few exceptions, others permit it up to a certain point in a woman's pregnancy, while others allow abortion throughout a woman's pregnancy. In states where abortion is legal, several classes of restrictions on the procedure may exist, such as parental consent or notification laws, requirements that patients be shown an ultrasound before obtaining an abortion, mandatory waiting periods, and counseling requirements.
The Respect for Marriage Act is a landmark United States federal law passed by the 117th United States Congress in 2022 and signed into law by President Joe Biden. It repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), requires the U.S. federal government and all U.S. states and territories to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial civil marriages in the United States, and protects religious liberty. Its first version in 2009 was supported by former Republican U.S. Representative Bob Barr, the original sponsor of DOMA, and former President Bill Clinton, who signed DOMA in 1996. Iterations of the proposal were put forth in the 111th, 112th, 113th, 114th, and 117th Congresses.
Abortion is the termination of human pregnancy, often performed in the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. In 1973, the United States Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade recognized a constitutional right to obtain an abortion without excessive government restriction, and in 1992 the Court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey invalidated restrictions that create an undue burden on people seeking abortions. Since then, there has continued to be an abortion debate in the United States, and some states have passed laws in the form of regulation of abortions but which have the purpose or effect of restricting its provision. The proponents of such laws argue they do not create an undue burden. Some state laws that impact the availability of abortions have been upheld by courts. In 2022, Roe and Casey were overturned by the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, meaning that states may now regulate abortion in ways that were not previously permitted.
Abortion in Illinois is legal. 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 Colorado is legal at all stages of pregnancy. It is one of seven states without any term restrictions as to when a pregnancy can be terminated.
Abortion in Hawaii is legal. 66% of adults in Hawaii said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Hawaii began allowing elective abortion care de jure in 1970, the first state to do so. State law enacted at that time stated said, "the State shall not deny or interfere with a female's right to choose or obtain an abortion of a nonviable fetus or an abortion that is necessary to protect the life or health of the female."
Abortion in Massachusetts is legal at all stages of pregnancy, 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-choice states in the country: a Pew Research poll finding that 74% of residents supported the right to an abortion in all or most cases, a higher percentage than any other state. Marches supporting abortion rights took place as part of the #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.
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 Nevada is legal up to the 24th week of pregnancy, under the Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 442, section 250; and after 24 weeks if the pregnancy could be fatal for the pregnant woman. 62% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal while 34% said it should by illegal in all or most cases. Legislation by 2007 required informed consent. Attempts were successfully made to pass abortion legislation in May 2019, being pushed through a largely Democratic controlled state legislature. The number of abortion clinics in Nevada has declined over the years, with 25 in 1982, seventeen in 1992 and thirteen in 2014. There were 8,132 legal abortions in 2014, and 7,116 in 2015. Due to the high level of support for abortion rights, continued access to abortion is supported by all parties, including the Republicans.
Abortion in North Dakota is illegal. The state's sole abortion clinic relocated to Minnesota.
Abortion in Ohio is legal up to the point of fetal viability. A six week ban enacted prior to the passage of November 2023 Ohio Issue 1 is being challenged in court following abortion rights being placed into the Ohio State Constitution. In November 2023, a constitutional amendment was approved by a majority of voters that enshrined access to abortion in the Ohio Constitution. Despite the constitutional amendment, the Republican leaders of Ohio have defended the six-week abortion ban in courts.
Abortion in South Dakota is illegal. Anyone who induces an abortion is guilty of a Class 6 felony. An exception is included to "preserve the life of the pregnant female," given appropriate and reasonable medical judgment.
Abortion in Tennessee is illegal from fertilization, except to "prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman".
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 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 Iowa is legal up to 20 weeks of gestation. A 6-week abortion ban has been indefinitely blocked in court.
Abortion in Wyoming is currently legal due to a temporary court injunction.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392, 597 U.S. 215 (2022), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), returning to individual states the power to regulate any aspect of abortion not protected by federal statutory law.