Introduction
After Roe v. Wade, pro-life groups and states organized efforts to counteract the ruling in favor of abortion rights. Trigger laws were one of these political mechanisms used to mobilize anti-abortion agendas. These laws were written and passed by state governments to ban abortion in the event that Roe v. Wade were overturned [5]. They are constitutional in the respect that they have no implications and are not enforced unless their conditions are met [5]. Trigger laws were written and passed into the state constitutions of 13 states: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
Southern Correlation
The prevalence of trigger laws in the South is apparent, with 8 of 13 states located in the South. Correlations to religion, political affiliation, and patriarchal prevalence in Southern culture can be used to explain this. Such laws can be said to represent the memory of Southern prosperity. They represent the societal norms of the time and can reflect the ever-lasting image of “the good old days.” Holding on to the past is a way of memorializing Southern history and consecrating the hegemonic narrative. Preserving these old ways of life, however, prevents the processual aspect of memory from utilizing the lessons of the past to grow.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma was one of the first states to pass a trigger law that entirely banned abortion in May of 2022 [1]. The law, H.B. 4327, states “any person…may bring civil action against any person who performs or induces an abortion, knowing engages in conduct that aids the performance of an abortion, or intends to engage in an abortion” [2]. Such prohibitions on abortion are applicable immediately after conception [6]. Punishments for engaging in any of these acts include incurring “injunctive relief sufficient to prevent the defendant from violating this act, statutory damages in an amount of no less than $10,000, nominal and compensatory damages, and court costs and attorney fees” [2].
Such laws that promote the civilian persecution of individuals seeking abortions are colloquially termed “bounty hunter” laws and pose serious implications to society. Actively seeking out others can possibly encroach on personal rights to privacy and speech.
After the Dobbs decision, this total abortion ban went into effect after a final certification by an attorney general [7]. In March of 2023, the Oklahoma Supreme Court amended this law to allow abortion only when the pregnancy is “necessary to preserve her life” [3]. This law speaks of preservation in terms of physical health only and does not consider the possible emotional harm/trauma that could threaten the life of the person who’s bearing an unwanted pregnancy.
Mississippi
Mississippi passed its trigger law, S.B. 2391, in 2007. This law states” No abortion shall be performed or induced in the State of Mississippi, except in the case where necessary for the preservation of the mother’s life or where the pregnancy was caused by rape” [4]. This law is applicable immediately after conception. Punishments are stated to include, “imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Correction for not less than one year nor more than ten years” [4].
In the event of a legal abortion, the law interestingly notes that the physician must go through a set of precautionary steps. The physician is obligated to “perform fetal ultrasound imaging and auscultation of fetal heart tone service, offer to provide the patient with the opportunity to view the active ultrasound image…and heartbeat if audible, offer to provide the patient with a physical picture of the ultrasound image, obtain the patient’s signature, and retain a copy of the signed certification form” [4]. Although some of these steps follow necessary medical procedures, some attempt to emotionally sway the patient into keeping the fetus. By asking the patient to listen to the heartbeat and keep a picture of the ultrasound, it evokes emotions of shame and regret during the process. This law is especially interesting when considering the initial conditions of this abortion. In Mississippi, these patients will be either in life-threatening conditions or rape victims. Guilt-tripping a person with a uterus for being a victim poses salient questions to the morality of these laws. In addition, this law makes a point to mention the picture must be “of a quality consistent with standard medical practice” and “shall accurately portray the presence of external members and internal organs” [4].
Conclusion
Trigger laws represent the continuous effort to deny reproductive rights but also the fierce loyalty to a false narrative of the South. The South continues to mold memory into something that preserves its core values. These core values were of the prosperous South and its strong familial ties, founded in Christianity. Preservation of gender imbalances is ingrained into the laws and political machines of these states. Without access to abortion, the true effects of the Dobbs decision and the enacting of these laws are unknown. However, it can be predicted that with the recent acquisition of agency, those with a uterus will continue to be outspoken and challenge the hegemony of the South.
Aaliyah Horton
Works Cited
[1] “Oklahoma Becomes the First State to Entirely Ban Abortion.” Center for Reproductive Rights (May 25, 2022)
[2] “Oklahoma House Bill 4237 (Prior Session Legislation).” LegiScan (2022)
[3] “Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules the Right to Abortion is Protected in Life-Threatening Situations.” Center for Reproductive Rights (March 21, 2023)
[4] “Senate Bill 2391” Mississippi Legislature (2007)
[5] Johnson, Sarah. “Abortion & Trigger Laws.” Bill Track 50 (May 17, 2022)
[6] Kitchener, Caroline. Schaul, Kevin. Kirkpatrick, N. Santamariña, Daniela. Tierney, Lauren. “States where abortion is legal, banned or under threat.” The Washington Post (April 14, 2023)
[7] Nash, Elizabeth. Guarnieri, Isabel. “13 States Have Abortion Trigger Bans- Here’s What Happens When Roe is Overturned.” Guttmacher Institute (June, 2022)
[8] Santamariña, Daniela. Phillips, Amber. “What would happen if Roe v. Wade were overturned.” The Washington Post (September 2, 2021)
This post was very informative as I had never heard of Trigger laws. I think the fact that states had these laws at ready entails that they expected this overturn to occur. I feel like this is a vital part of the memory of Roe V. Wade and demonstrates the way it was thwarted from the start of its creation. It also demonstrates the way memory is perceived in different regions and the way an imagined community fortifies these laws and beliefs. I feel that these laws also further encouraged pro-life rallies and protests as these laws indicated these individuals were supported by the state. This encouragement is one that applies to each individual interpretation of the memory and creates a constant dissonance between political groups
Considering the substantial impact of party polarization on the abortion issue, I would be interested to look more into when these trigger laws were originally formed. Here, you mention Mississippi putting a trigger law into effect in 2007, and I would imagine that, given the increasing polarization since then, that many of the other trigger laws may have been established around that time period. Along with the acknowledgement that Roe was a ruling that occurred in 1973, this seems very telling for how polarization has affected and will continue to effect abortion debates in America.
Also, I like how you analyzed and broke down the aspects of such abortion restricting laws attempting to shame those seeking abortions. Your point about how Mississippi residents seeking these abortions will already be either victims of rape or in medical danger is extremely important, as it makes an already traumatizing experience even more traumatizing, filled with guilt and shame that could dispel the individual from later seeking medical assistance when needed, and endangering their life by doing so. Overall, this was a very comprehensive breakdown of anti-abortion trigger laws in the South, and your point about the cultural gender inequality in the South was a very interesting point to close on.
I had heard of trigger laws when Roe v. Wade was overturned, but I had no idea that so many states had them in place. It’s shocking to see that many state governments anticipated this protection to be overturned, no doubt causing tension between voters in these said states. Not only this, but these laws are categorically cruel to the mother, especially when already enduring the trauma of an unwanted pregnancy. In Mississippi, forcing the mother to listen to the heartbeat is (solely for the purpose of inflicting guilt onto her) truly nothing but a vicious enforcement which lacks any sort of moral justification. I was honestly shocked by these states and their laws, although, it is fitting considering their political makeup.
This post was very unique to me because I was unaware what a trigger law actually was. I absolutely love how you laid out your post because the map allows me to have a visual representation of the states where trigger laws are enforced. The breakdown of the states that enforce these laws was also very informative and allowed me to gain a better understanding of their motivation in making these laws. It is clear they have tradition or their own idea of the “good ole days” and abortion is not involved in this world so they want to deny women their reproductive rights.
I really enjoyed reading your article. Before doing so, I had never heard of trigger laws or knew what they were. As you stated, it is easy to see a correlation between the ideals of south and these laws. I think this section was extremely eyeopening. I agree how this is trying to recreate the past but that is not a good thing. It is always import to learn and remember the past so that we as a society do not make the same mistakes again. Sadly, this does not seem to be the case with the recent decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
Something that caught my attention in your article was the mention of the south wanting to get back or stay in the “good old times”. My communications class and this class have a lot of overlap it seems as we were just talking about how conservatives are always pining for the golden age, an age which never really existed and are resisting change as it is seen as bad and as we know the stereotype for souther states is that they are very conservative. Therefore, it is not shocking that 8 out of 13 states that had trigger laws ready to be put into place were southern states.
I really liked how you mentioned that the south is continuing to try and mold a narrative, I wonder how much of this is linked to collective memory as the south has always been heavily tied to christianity. How has the narrative of the south influenced those who live here? What is the harm in changing these southern values?
This post really helped me gain some more insight on the trigger laws; i had known that they were something that people were trying to put into place but did not really know the extent that they were. It is interesting trying to understand why people want trigger laws to be put into place when it is seemingly moving backwards in time almost. I feel like these types of laws that take away certain rights that were “recently” decided will mess up the memory that people have towards them. maybe in the way that people may forget that those freedoms were ever once there.
You make a great point about the requirements one must undergo in order to get an abortion in these states. The life of the mother should be of the utmost importance during any pregnancy, wanted or unwanted, and the attempt to sway their decision on getting an abortion is unjust. There is no reason that a woman whose life is in danger should have to carry a child to term. I was unaware of how detailed these precautionary steps are. This makes the fact that the South was not even concerned with abortion until the mid-1950s even more interesting. Trigger laws were designed to harm women due to their extremely restrictive and shame-inducing nature.
This is a particularly interesting phenomenon. The geographic cluster of these laws is unsurprising to us now, but what is surprising about this is how in lecture we saw that the South was ahead of the North on the issue of abortion before Roe v. Wade. You attribute these laws to the patriarchal element in Southern culture, but I wonder if there’s more to it. How then did the shift take place between now and then? I think you’re right about the situation now, but maybe the South’s memory of itself is distorted.
I really like how you separated the information about trigger laws across states, this made it very easy to learn about each state is doing when it comes to trigger laws. One thing I didn’t know about was the “southern correlation”. Learning about these southern states that have passed trigger laws shows us a lot about southern culture and mainly in the south that you bring up in your post. How does memory of abortion look different in the south vs the north? This shows how big of a factor things like culture, religion, and politics can be.
I found Aaliyah’s article to a very informative and engaging piece; she explore the various “trigger laws” that have been enacted in several southern states, which essentially operate to limit access to abortion services for women and other persons with uteruses.
One thing I particularly appreciated about the article was the way that Horton formatted her information. She explained the different types of trigger laws, how they work, and which states have implemented them. This made it easy for me to understand the issue at hand and the current potential implications for women’s reproductive rights, more specifically in the American South. Also, it had nuance; she quoted many politicians’ perspectives and incorporated the personal stories of women who have been impacted by said trigger laws. Overall, I found it to be a well-researched and thought provoking article.
Trigger laws was a new concept for me, so I appreciate how you simplified the term for better understanding. My biggest takeaway from your article is that the American South’s roots in Christianity also serves as a scapegoat for the state government to pass questionable laws. Using religion as an argument for abortion isn’t right in my opinion, because not everyone shares those beliefs.
Also, having women who’ve already committed to getting an abortion keep and listen to ultrasounds is not right. It sounds like a last ditch effort to change the woman’s mind.