Introduction
In June 2022, the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization resulted in the landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the monumental Supreme Court case that stated that the right to abortion was protected by the US Constitution. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, abortion has become more topical than ever, with several states racing to enact laws that would ban the practice. With the country divided on how permissive abortion should be, it was one of the greatest factors for voters heading into the 2022 midterm elections. This post is designed to be an in depth look into the varying laws regarding abortion in the United States as a result of the overruling of Roe. The specificities of how permissible abortion is differs throughout almost every state, and I believe that on a greater scale, it is a testament to the history and culture throughout the distinct regions of America.
Overview and Definitions of Abortion Laws in a Post-Dobbs Climate
In the most general of terms, abortion in the United States is one of two things: protected or not protected. This means that states either have abortion rights codified into law or not, which can include an unprotected, hostile, or illegal status. States such as California, New York, Connecticut, and Illinois are in the “expanded access” category, where the right to abortion is protected and other laws have been created to allow for additional access to abortion care1. Montana, Colorado, Nevada, and Maine are examples of protected states that are more restrictive than the “expanded access” states due to the limitations on the access of care1. There are currently 23 states in the country that protect abortion rights1. The other 27 fall under the not protected category, which is more diverse in its types of policies. Virginia, New Mexico, and New Hampshire are the three states where abortion is accessible, but is not under legal protection1. Neither New Hampshire and New Mexico have bans on when an abortion can be procured, but in Virginia, it is only permissible until the third trimester2. There are several states, such as North Carolina, Utah, Georgia, and Pennsylvania that are described as “hostile”1. This means that abortion is accessible but is not legally protected and lawmakers in these states have expressed the desire to prohibit the practice entirely. They are vulnerable to the revival of old abortion bans or the formation of new ones. Finally, 12 states, mostly in the south, have made abortion completely illegal and with criminal penalties. Many of these states had trigger bans go into effect after the Dobbs ruling, which enacted laws that were made after Roe in the case of its nullification. Abortion in the United States is a highly divisive subject, as shown by the almost halfway split between protected and not protected states.
Into the Specifics
As mentioned in the previous section, there are 12 states that have near-total abortion bans, with the common exception being a life-saving procedure of the mother. However, not all of these bans are the same. For example, West Virginia, Texas, Arkansas, South Dakota, and Missouri have laws that completely ban abortion except to save the life of the mother2. Others, like Oklahoma and Idaho, are slightly less restrictive, with exceptions for cases of rape and incest2. Tennessee and Kentucky do not make these same exceptions, but do allow the pregnancy to be terminated if it will prevent the serious impairment of a major bodily function or organ2. Louisiana is the only state of those with near-total bans that allows an abortion when the pregnancy is “medically futile”2. Even though there are currently only 14 states where abortion is unavailable (North Dakota and Wisconsin allow the practice but do not have clinics at this time), this number is subject to change as state governments shift3. There are several states that have attempted to enact trigger bans or initiate new legislation regarding abortion bans that have been blocked by state Supreme Courts or governors. Indiana, Wyoming, and Utah are all examples of states that have tried to enforce near-total bans but have been blocked due to legal challenges3. These laws and injunctions are not permanent, they can be reversed depending on the political party that has majority in the state legislature and judicial system. Abortion is an issue that is entwined with partisanship, which comes from the culture of certain geographical regions in the United States.
Effects of Historical Partisanship and Geography in the Aftermath of Dobbs
This may come as a surprise, but Connecticut was the first state to codify an abortion law – and it wasn’t for the practice’s legal protection4. The law punished any person who took poison with the intent to cause “the miscarriage of any woman, then being quick with child”4. In the colonial days of America, abortion was not the controversial issue it is today. Abortion laws were nonexistent, and it was only frowned upon due to the implication of illicit premarital sex. Due to the extreme risks of childbirth and lack of contraception, abortion was generally not a condemned practice until after the mother could feel the fetus moving in the uterus. In fact, anti-abortion legislation was much more prevalent in New England in the mid-20th century than in the South5. Catholics in the Northeast were fervently against abortion due to the belief that life began with conception5. Southern Evangelicals during this time were not morally concerned by abortion and viewed it as a “Catholic cause”5. However, this view shifted after this group realized the large number of unmarried women traveling to New York to have abortions. Their aversion to women’s rights and the feminist movement caused many evangelical leaders to find “new meanings” in Bible verses that they believed to be about abortion. Since white evangelicals are mainly located in the South, many legislators followed this religion and therefore were able to make more restrictive abortion bans. Hand in hand with the Republican party, the South became the “epicenter of anti-abortion fervor” that we know it to be today5.
Abby Chester
Citations
- “Abortion Laws by State.” Center for Reproductive Rights, 6 Jan. 2023, https://reproductiverights.org/maps/abortion-laws-by-state/.
- Haines, Julia, et al. “State Abortion Laws in the Wake of Roe v. Wade – US News.” US News, 14 Apr. 2023, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/a-guide-to-abortion-laws-by-state.
- Nash, Elizabeth, and Isabel Guarnieri. “Six Months Post-Roe, 24 US States Have Banned Abortion or Are Likely to Do so: A Roundup.” Guttmacher Institute, 10 Jan. 2023, https://www.guttmacher.org/2023/01/six-months-post-roe-24-us-states-have-banned-abortion-or-are-likely-do-so-roundup.
- Blakemore, Erin. “The Complex Early History of Abortion in the United States.” History & Culture , National Geographic, 11 Apr. 2023, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/the-complex-early-history-of-abortion-in-the-united-states.
- Varney, Sarah. “Why Is the South the Epicenter of Anti-Abortion Fervor?” KFF Health News, 3 Aug. 2021, https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/qa-why-south-is-anti-abortion-epicenter/.
- Published by Statista Research Department. “Abortion: Support by Party and Level of Legalization U.S. 2022.” Statista, Statista Research Department, 30 Sept. 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1079467/abortion-support-party-level-legalization-us/.
The fact that abortion was much more common in New England than in the South during the early 20th century came as a shock to me. I don’t understand why this is not mentioned more often because, in my opinion, it does not change the narrative of the pro-choice argument. I don’t see how historical circumstances surrounding abortion and geography could cause issues for either the pro-life or pro-choice cause. I also was unaware of the historical accounts of abortion and that it was less controversial than it is now. However, in context, this does make sense as childbirth was much riskier in the early 20th century than it is now with modern medicine and healthcare. If the only religious argument against abortion in the South previously was due to premarital sex being a sin, there shouldn’t be a religious argument such as the fetus’ life beginning at conception against abortion today. I find it quite interesting that this, “life begins at conception” religious pro-life arguments originated in New England, yet this seems to be completely disregarded today. The connection between geography and abortion seems to have taken an unpredictable pathway that has been incredibly partial considering major pieces of information have been forgotten or left out of the narrative.
The correlation between abortion laws and geography as well as the link between religion and geography are fascinating. The dispersion of culture and religion as settlers colonized the U.S. has created a vernacular memory. Those regions were settled by groups of the same religion or ethnicity and those influences remain prevalent today. Coincidentally the first map outlining the states where the most extreme laws on abortion are held is a large concentrated region, this region aligns with the “bible belt” region. Interestingly the most prominent religion in this region is Protestant which aligns with the settlement of the U.S. by colonizers. I think it’s interesting that abortion has only recently become controversial yet it wasn’t as big of an issue in earlier times. The processual aspect of abortion from the termination of life as believed by Catholics to the opposition to premarital sex by Southern opponents is interesting. I think they get clumped together as religious groups but the opposition is particular within those religions, and that particularity is echoed in the regions they dominate laws. This was a very fascinating post, great job!
This post intrigued me from its very title, and I was not disappointed. I thought the note on the initial anti-abortion sentiment in New England made sense with the concentration of Catholics. However I wonder if Louisiana was an exception to the rule, considering the heavy Catholic influence. I think the increase of pro-life sentiment in the South may have been spurred by the “Southern Strategy.” This was a Republican electoral strategy adopted in the 50s/60s by Nixon. This strategy encompasses appealing to white conservatives in the South by pushing divisive rhetoric against urban centers and the burgeoning civil rights movement among Black Americans. This rebranded conservatism has led to complete societal shift, right-to-work laws, redlining, systemic racism, anti-progressivism in general. White churches were a vessel of this rhetoric, deepening the political disparity between white and Black christians in the South. While the South is not Catholic, is has been dominated by Southern Baptist, Pentecostal, and other non-liturgical church traditions that emphasize restraint, temperence, and abstinence. Many churches of these branches abhor liquor, pre-marital sex, even dancing or music (a La Footloose). This is how abortion was taken up as a singular concern in southern states. But the South is not a monolith of white evangelism. While white churches were intensely pro-establishment and conservative, the Black church fostered powerful social change in their very pews.
and What more, the very states whose women will be impacted the most by the lack of access to abortion have the stricter bans. Mississippi, Alabama, etc, are all burdened by poverty and very little welfare support. The women of these states have little access to scientifically-accurate sexual education in schools, even less access to reproductive and family planning resources. Once again, the most vulnerable will be the most impacted.
This post offers a comprehensive and informative look into the current landscape of reproductive rights. It has a detailed breakdown of the various categories of state laws, from expanded access to hostile and illegal, provides a clear and easily understandable overview for readers. There is inclusion of specific examples from different states helps to illustrate the wide range of policies and restrictions in place. Furthermore, the exploration of the historical context and the role of partisanship and geography is fascinating and sheds light on the reasons behind the current regional differences in abortion legislation. The way connected the historical shifts in attitudes towards abortion with the cultural and religious context of different regions in the United States adds depth to the reader’s understanding of this complex and divisive issue.
This was post was extremely eye opening. I previously knew that southern and more republican states had the most laws about abortion, but this just clarified and added to my previous knowledge. I like how you included the picture of the map to visually demonstrate the severity of this. People within these southern most states will have a completely different memory than those from other states. This will change everyone’s collective memory, but everyone will still have very different ones. The experiences that these women have to go through is vastly different from others, since even if they wanted to go to another state to get an abortion, they would need to travel further. This is because most of their surrounding states do not offer abortions either.