Abortion Industry Reeling From Dobbs Life Victory

There's not the profit in butchering babies that there was! The abortion industry is reeling from the Dobbs case overturning Roe vs Wade.

States where abortion bans have taken effect

Dobbs’ impact

Abortion is now virtually illegal or significantly restricted in at least 10 states, most of which have implemented what are known as “trigger” laws designed to take effect immediately upon the reversal of Roe v. Wade and criminalize abortion throughout pregnancy.

Clinics shuttering: The bans are a devastating blow to the abortion industry: Since Friday morning, clinics have ceased abortions in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma,  South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Abortions initially stopped in Utah, Louisiana, and Texas but have resumed to varying extents this week due to recent, temporary court orders.

More than 100,000 abortions took place in those states in 2019, according to CDC data.

Around one-quarter of women aged 13 to 44 in the U.S. live in states where bans have taken effect since Friday, including over 6 million in Texas alone. For many of those women, the nearest abortion facility could be hundreds of miles away, and even then may not be accessible.

Life in prison: Penalties for abortions in many conservative states are prohibitive. In Alabama, performing any elective abortion is a felony equivalent to rape or attempted murder and can lead to life imprisonment. In Louisiana, aborting the baby of minor carries up to 50 years in prison.

Every state continues to allow exceptions when “necessary” to save the mother’s life due to a physical condition. Experts have attested that abortion is never medically necessary, however, and pro-lifers and the Catholic Church point out that it is always the deliberate killing of an innocent human life.

But abortionists are lamenting that exemptions in newly-enforceable bans are often so narrowly tailored as to make them hesitant to perform any abortions for fear of prosecution and could make it impossible to maintain a clinic at all.

ALABAMA – Ban throughout pregnancy

As of Friday, abortion is illegal at all stages of pregnancy in Alabama with few exceptions. A federal court lifted an injunction on the state’s near-total abortion ban enacted in 2019, Attorney General Steve Marshall announced within hours of the Dobbs ruling.

Penalties: The 2019 law, known as the Human Life Protection Act, makes performing an abortion a Class A felony that can result in life imprisonment.

Exceptions: The law allows exceptions when “necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk to the unborn child’s mother” or for fatal fetal anomalies. Alabama has another 1951 pre-Roe ban on the books that outlaws abortion except to preserve a mother’s life or health.

Impact: The last three abortion facilities in Alabama halted all procedures Friday.

ARIZONA – Ban throughout pregnancy

Arizona has an enjoined pre-Roe law from 1901 that bans abortion throughout pregnancy with penalties of up to five years in prison for anyone who aborts a woman’s baby or helps her to do so. The only exception is when an abortion would be “necessary to save [the mother’s] life.”

In effect: Gov. Doug Ducey has said that he will move to implement a 15-week ban that he signed in March and that takes effect in September. But Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Wednesday that the pre-Roe law is enforceable, and he said it doesn’t conflict with the more recent ban.

Brnovich added that he’ll seek the removal of the injunction placed on the law in 1973, the Associated Press reported.

Eugenic abortion ban: The Republican attorney general has indicated that another pro-life law enacted last year that prohibits abortions due to race, sex, or non-lethal genetic abnormality may also take effect with Roe out of the way. That law, SB 1457, makes performing a eugenic and race- or sex-selective abortion a Class 3 felony except in a “medical emergency” necessitating an immediate abortion to avoid the mother’s death or serious, permanent injury, based on a physician’s “good faith clinical judgment.”

Fetal personhood: It also contains a provision declaring unborn babies legal persons “at every stage of development” and granting them “all rights, privileges and immunities available to other persons, citizens and residents of this state, subject only the Constitution of the United States” and constitutional decisions of the Supreme Court.

A federal judge blocked part of SB 1457 last year but declined halt the fetal personhood provision, according to the Associated Press.

Impact: Planned Parenthood of Arizona and other abortion businesses in the state have stopped abortions.

ARKANSAS – Ban throughout pregnancy

Abortion is illegal throughout pregnancy in Arkansas.

A 2019 trigger law came into effect after Attorney General Leslie Rutledge certified on Friday that the Supreme Court had struck down Roe, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported. “None of us thought today would come in our lifetimes,” Rutledge said Friday.

Penalties: Anyone other than the mother who performs or attempts to perform an abortion will now face felony charges, fines of up to $100,000, and up to 10 years in prison.

Exceptions: The trigger law allows exceptions only when “necessary to preserve the life of a pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury.”

Impact: In response to the trigger law, Planned Parenthood Great Plains has completely halted abortions in the state.

KENTUCKY – Ban throughout pregnancy

Abortion is also banned in Kentucky.

The state’s trigger law defines an unborn child as a “human being” from fertilization and prohibits any procedure “with the specific intent of causing or abetting” the death of an unborn baby at any stage of embryonic or fetal development.

“No person shall knowingly administer to, prescribe for, procure for, or sell to any pregnant woman any medicine, drug, or other substance with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human being,” the law states.

Penalties: Abortions can result in Class D felony charges and up to five years in prison for anyone other than the mother.

Exceptions: The trigger law exempts abortions when “necessary” to prevent the mother’s death or permanent injury to a “life-sustaining organ” in a physician’s “reasonable medical judgment,” but requires doctors to “make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the mother and the life of the unborn human being.”

Impact: Kentucky’s two Louisville-based abortion clinics suspended abortions Friday, after the Dobbs ruling, wdrb.com reported.

Pro-life amendment: An amendment on the ballot in Kentucky this November would declare that the state constitution includes no right to abortion.

LOUISIANA – Ban throughout pregnancy (temporarily blocked)

A Louisiana trigger law from 2006 that bans abortion from fertilization went into effect Friday immediately after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Attorney General Jeff Landry announced.

Ban in effect?: On Monday, a state judge in New Orleans issued a temporarily restraining order barring enforcement of the ban until a July 8 hearing, the Associated Press reported. Landry said Wednesday in a letter to the Louisiana State Medical Society that the order “has limited reach,” however, and that abortion remains a crime.

“It is incumbent on this office to advise you that any medical provider who would perform or has performed an elective abortion after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs is jeopardizing his or her liberty and medical license,” Landry wrote.

The plaintiffs who sued to block the trigger law admitted that Louisiana has authority to ban abortion, according to the Associated Press, but took issue with the state’s “multiple, conflicting trigger mechanisms.” The Louisiana Constitution explicitly denies a “right” to abortion.

Penalties: Under Louisiana law, anyone who commits an abortion or intentionally provides a pregnant woman with substances to kill her unborn child can face up to 10 years imprisonment and $100,000 in fines. Late-term abortions (15+ weeks) can result in up to 15 years in prison and $200,000 in fines, and performing an abortion on a minor can lead to 50 years in prison.

Exceptions: The state permits exceptions when “necessary” to prevent the death of the mother “due to a physical condition,” to avoid “serious, permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ of a pregnant woman,” or if two doctors agree that an unborn baby would not survive after birth.

For an abortion allegedly to save the mother’s life, a doctor must “make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her unborn child in a manner consistent with reasonable medical practice,” the 2006 trigger law states.

Impact: The three outpatient abortion clinics in Louisiana had all stopped abortions on Friday but have again begun killing babies since Monday’s decision, according to the Associated Press.

MISSOURI – Ban throughout pregnancy

Missouri became the first state to criminalize abortion Friday morning, Republican Gov. Mike Parson announced. Parson and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt signed proclamations activating Missouri’s Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act within minutes of the Dobbs decision.

Exceptions: The act prohibits all abortions unless a medical condition would “necessitate” one to avoid the mother’s death or “substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function,” according to a physician’s judgement.

Penalties: Otherwise, inducing an abortion in Missouri is a Class B felony that carries up to 15 years in prison.

Impact: Planned Parenthood has ceased abortions at the state’s last mill.

OKLAHOMA – Ban throughout pregnancy

Oklahoma’s trigger law took effect on Friday, banning abortion from fertilization, Attorney General John O’Connor confirmed.

Exceptions: The law allows exceptions only when “necessary to preserve [the mother’s] life.”

Texas-style ban: Oklahoma had already criminalized virtually all abortions last month with a law enforced by civil lawsuits that took effect despite Roe v. Wade. That measure, modeled after Texas’ heartbeat bill, also allowed abortion in cases of incest or sexual assault reported to police.

“Law enforcement is now activated in respect to any effort to aid, abet or solicit any abortions,” O’Connor warned Friday.

Penalties: Anyone who commits an illegal abortion or prescribes, administers, or “advises” a woman to take abortion-inducing substances or procures the substances for her can face between two and five years in prison under the trigger law.

OHIO – Ban at six weeks

In Ohio, abortion is now illegal when a baby’s heartbeat can first be detected, which is typically at around six weeks of pregnancy.

On Friday, a federal judge dissolved an injunction on the state’s 2019 heartbeat bill following a request from Attorney General Dave Yost, The Columbus Dispatch reported. The injunction was based on Roe and later pro-abortion Supreme Court ruling Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Yost said. The high court also overturned Casey on Friday.

“The Heartbeat Bill is now the law,” Yost declared.

Penalties, exceptions: Illegal abortions come with felony charges and up to one year in prison except when a “medical emergency or medical necessity” of a pregnant woman “necessitates the immediate performance or inducement of an abortion.”

Total ban coming: Republican Senate President Matt Hoffman told Politico that Republican state lawmakers will move this fall or winter to pass a ban on all abortions unless necessary to save the woman’s life.

SOUTH CAROLINA – Ban at six weeks

South Carolina’s heartbeat law took effect Monday, Gov. Henry McMaster announced, banning abortion with limited exceptions from around six weeks of pregnancy.

The law criminalizes aborting or attempting to abort an unborn baby with a detectable heartbeat and mandates that the mother hear the baby’s heartbeat and view an ultrasound before an abortion.

Exceptions: It permits exemptions up to 20 weeks of pregnancy for alleged incest or rape that abortionists must report to law enforcement, as well as for fatal fetal anomalies and when “necessary to prevent the serious risk of a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman” or her death.

Penalties: Violations carry felony charges and penalties of up to $10,000 in fines, imprisonment of two years, or both.

Impact: Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which manages abortion mills in Charleston and Columbia, said it will adhere to the law, according to the Post and Courier.

McMaster has called for even tougher restrictions, and said Friday that he will “immediately begin working with members of the General Assembly to determine the best solution for protecting the lives of unborn South Carolinians.”

SOUTH DAKOTA – Ban throughout pregnancy

Abortion is illegal in South Dakota under the state’s trigger law, which took effect Friday.

Penalties: The 2005 law makes inducing an abortion or prescribing or procuring abortion-causing substances for a pregnant woman a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and $4,000 in fines.

Exceptions: The only exception is when an abortion would be “necessary to preserve the life” of the mother based on “appropriate and reasonable medical judgment.”

The last abortion facility in South Dakota had already shut down in mid-June.

More protections: Gov. Kristi Noem and legislative leaders said Friday that they plan to call a special legislative session to further boost pro-life protections in the state.

Noem said in an interview Sunday that the state will not make changes to the trigger ban and added that lawmakers are working on restrictions for abortions by telemedicine. “There’ll be a debate about” what to do regarding out-of-state abortions, Noem said.

TENNESSEE – Ban at six weeks, trigger ban soon

Abortion is now illegal at around six weeks of pregnancy in Tennessee, after a federal court let the state’s heartbeat ban take effect Tuesday.

The law prohibits abortion once a baby’s heartbeat can be detected and on the basis of race, sex, or a diagnosis of Down syndrome.

Penalties, exceptions: Performing an illegal abortion is a Class C felony carrying up to 15 years in prison under the law, which permits exceptions for medical emergencies that would “necessitate” an abortion “to avert the death of the pregnant woman” or prevent “substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, not including psychological or emotional conditions,” based on a physician’s “good faith medical judgment.”

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery on Friday asked the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to lift an injunction on the heartbeat ban.

Trigger ban: A trigger law enacted by the state in 2019 will also make abortion illegal throughout pregnancy 30 days after the Supreme Court issues its official judgment overturning Roe v. Wade. A judgment is a legal document distinct from the Court’s opinion and can take a month or longer to be released, according to Attorney General Slatery’s office.

The trigger law criminalizes any abortion as a Class C felony except if “necessary” to avoid the mother’s death or “serious risk” of permanent injury to a “major bodily function.”

Impact: Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi has completely halted abortions as of Tuesday.

TEXAS – Ban at six weeks, trigger ban soon

Heartbeat act: Texas has prohibited abortion at approximately six weeks of pregnancy since September 2021 through the Texas Heartbeat Act, which state and federal courts let stand for months despite Roe. The law escaped injunction due to a unique enforcement mechanism that relies on civil lawsuits brought by private citizens as opposed to prosecution by the government.

Trigger ban: A trigger law will take effect in Texas 30 days after the Supreme Court issues its judgment overturning Roe, according to an advisory published Friday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“So while it is clear that the Act will take effect, we cannot calculate exactly when until the Court issues its judgment,” Paxton said. The law criminalizes abortion from the moment of fertilization, and anyone other than the mother who performs, attempts, or induces an abortion can face life imprisonment and up to $100,000 in fines.

Exceptions: The Texas heartbeat ban allows exceptions when “necessary” due to a “medical emergency.” The trigger law permits abortions when a woman has a “life-threatening physical condition” and her pregnancy puts her “at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless the abortion is performed or induced.”

Pre-Roe laws: The Lone Star state still has pre-Roe restrictions as well, including another near-total ban and a law that makes it a crime to “furnish the means for procuring an abortion.” Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses halted abortions in Texas on Friday due to the pre-Roe laws, which Paxton argued were immediately enforceable after Roe fell.

Blocked?: On Tuesday, however, State District Judge Christine Weems temporarily blocked those laws at the request of several abortion clinics represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The clinics are set to resume abortions prior to six weeks of pregnancy until the trigger law takes effect, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

But Paxton said in a tweet Tuesday that the pre-Roe laws are “100% in effect & constitutional” and added that he will appeal the decision “immediately.”

Impact: Its unclear whether Weems’ temporary restraining order, which lasts until a July 12 hearing, applies only to the groups that sued, according to the Statesman. The website of Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas still says that the organization is not offering abortions.

UTAH – Ban throughout pregnancy (temporarily blocked)

Elective abortion became illegal in Utah following the reversal of Roe v. Wade Friday, but a Utah judge issued a temporary restraining order Monday blocking enforcement of the state’s trigger law. The order lasts two weeks.

Utah’s trigger ban went into effect Friday evening after the state legislature’s general counsel certified to the Legislative Management Committee that the Supreme Court reversed Roe, Deseret News reported.

Third District Court Judge Andrew Stone set a hearing for July 11 regarding a longer preliminary injunction sought by the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah. Stone noted that the abortion group’s lawsuit will likely be appealed to the Utah Court of Appeals or Utah Supreme Court.

Exceptions: Utah’s ban outlaws abortion at all stages of pregnancy except in cases of rape or incest reported to law enforcement, when necessary to save the mother’s life or to prevent “serious risk” of irreversible injury, or if two doctors who practice “maternal fetal medicine” conclude that the baby “has a defect that is uniformly diagnosable and uniformly lethal” or “a severe brain abnormality that is uniformly diagnosable.”

Penalties: “Violating Utah’s trigger law is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. And any clinic or physician involved could lose their license,” KCPW reported.

Planned Parenthood resumed abortions Monday due to Stone’s order.

18-week ban in effect: Another law banning abortion at 18 weeks is now in effect in Utah after a federal judge dismissed an injunction placed on it in 2019, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

WISCONSIN – Ban throughout pregnancy

A pre-Roe ban in Wisconsin that criminalizes killing an unborn baby from conception except when necessary to preserve the mother’s life took effect on Friday, according to the New York Times.

Democrats won’t enforce: Wisconsin Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul and some local Democratic officials have pledged that they will not enforce it, however, and the law is likely to be the focus of upcoming litigation, 5Chicago reported.

Impact: Abortion mills have still stopped killing pre-born babies in the state.

Life on the ballot: Republicans control the Wisconsin legislature. Kaul and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has pledged to give illegal abortionists clemency, are up for re-election in November.

States where abortion will soon be illegal

In these other states, trigger laws will prohibit abortion throughout pregnancy in the coming days and weeks:

IDAHO – Trigger ban soon

An Idaho law banning abortion throughout pregnancy will take effect 30 days after the Supreme Court issues its judgment reversing Roe v. Wade.

Exceptions: The law includes exceptions for incest or rape reported to law enforcement and if necessary to preserve the mother’s life, though not to prevent potential self-harm.

When performing an abortion allegedly to save the life of a pregnant woman, a doctor must provide “the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive” unless doing so would put the woman at greater risk of death or serious injury.

Penalties: “Under the trigger law, the person performing the abortion could face a felony prosecution punishable by up to five years in prison,” the Associated Press reported. Health care professionals could have their licenses suspended for illegal abortions.

Texas-style ban: Idaho also has a Texas-style civil ban outlawing abortion at six weeks that is currently blocked in court but could come into effect following Dobbs. The state supreme court is scheduled to hear arguments about the law in August, according to the Associated Press.

MISSISSIPPI – Trigger ban soon

Mississippi will ban abortion throughout pregnancy 10 days after Attorney General Lynn Fitch certifies that Roe v. Wade has fallen.

Fitch announced that she published the required certification for the state’s trigger law on Monday, June 27.

Penalties: Anyone but the mother who commits or attempts to commit an abortion or who prescribes abortion-inducing drugs to a pregnant woman risks up to 10 years in prison under the law.

Exceptions: The Mississippi trigger ban excepts abortions “necessary for the preservation of the mother’s life” or if she has filed a formal charge of rape, according to WLBT.

Impact: The woman who runs the single abortion clinic in the state told the Associated Press that it will close its doors upon the reversal of Roe. That clinic, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, was at the center of the Dobbs case.

15-week ban in effect: Mississippi’s abortion ban at 15 weeks, which the Supreme Court upheld in Dobbs v. Jackson, is now in effect, according to the New York Times.

NORTH DAKOTA – Trigger ban soon

Abortion will be illegal in North Dakota 30 days after the state attorney general certifies to the legislative council that the Supreme Court has “restored to the states the authority to prohibit abortion,” according to the office of Gov. Doug Burgum.

Penalties, exceptions: The state’s 2007 trigger law makes abortion a Class C felony carrying up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine other than in cases of rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life.

WYOMING – Trigger ban soon

A trigger bill enacted by Wyoming this year will ban abortion five days after Gov. Mark Gordon certifies that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe.

Penalties, exceptions: Performing an abortion can result in felony charges and up to 14 years in prison except in cases of sexual assault, incest, or when necessary in cases of “serious risk of death” or permanent injury to the mother not due to “psychological or emotional conditions.”

“An abortion shall not be performed after the embryo or fetus has reached viability except when necessary to preserve the woman from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health, according to appropriate medical judgment,” the law states.

States where significant restrictions could take effect soon

Other significant abortion bans, including fetal heartbeat laws, could come into force in a matter of days in a handful of other states:

GEORGIA – Ban at six weeks soon

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced Friday that he has asked a federal court to let Georgia’s heartbeat law go into effect immediately.

Exceptions: The 2019 law prohibits abortion at about six weeks’ gestation, with exceptions for rape and incest reported to law enforcement, “medically futile” pregnancies, and when “necessary in order to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or the substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.”

Penalties: Criminal penalties include up to 10 years in prison for illegal abortions but do not apply to the mother.

The bill’s rape and incest exceptions end after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

INDIANA – Ban on dismemberment abortion soon

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced Tuesday that he has asked federal judges to lift orders blocking a slate of pro-life laws, including a ban on dismemberment abortion and a law that prohibits abortions based on race, sex, or disability. Another law requires that parents be notified if their underage daughter gets permission from a court to have an abortion without their consent.

Dismemberment abortion, also known as dilation and evacuation (D&E), accounts for around 95 percent of all abortions in the U.S. after roughly 13 weeks of pregnancy, according to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute. Outlawing the practice would effectively ban abortion after the first trimester.

Abortion is currently legal in Indiana up to 22 weeks.

Further ban expected: Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and Republican lawmakers have said they plan to address abortion during a legislative session that begins July 6. A total or near-total ban is expected.

IOWA – Ban at six weeks likely

Iowa has also enacted a fetal heartbeat law that could take effect after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling. Republican Gov. Kim Reynold announced Tuesday that she will ask Iowa courts to allow the state to enforce the law.

Republicans control the state government and may advance additional pro-life protections in a special legislative session this year.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in June that the state constitution does not guarantee a “fundamental right” to have an abortion. The decision overturned a 2018 precedent and will likely give lawmakers greater ability to restrict the murderous practice, though the court has not said what the standard should be now, the Des Moines Register reported.

States with pre-Roe bans that could restrict abortion

MICHIGAN

Michigan has a pre-Roe ban that has not been repealed. The statute could apply to women who abort their own babies and its only exception is to save the mother’s life, according to Axios.

Blocked: Illegal abortions can result in penalties of up four years in prison under the 1931 ban, but a Michigan judge has temporarily blocked it, and radical lesbian Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has refused to enforce it.

Gov pushes abortion ‘right’: Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is up for re-election this year, has urged the state supreme court to declare abortion a “right” under the Michigan Constitution and has preemptively sued 13 county prosecutors who have abortion facilities in their jurisdictions in an attempt to get around the pre-Roe ban, CBS News reported.

Impact: The largest hospital system in Michigan, BHSH System, has said that it will abide by the law nevertheless and permit abortions only if “medically necessary.” Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker has also vowed to enforce it despite the injunction.

Anti-life amendment: A campaign for a Michigan ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion in the state constitution has enough signatures to get the issue on the ballot in November, according to organizers. The amendment would allow abortion up to the moment of birth for a woman’s “mental health,” in addition to several other radical provisions, including making “infertility care” a “fundamental right.” The deadline for signatures is July 11.

NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina has an enjoined pre-Roe ban that was modified in 1973 to protect unborn babies starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy, according to the New York Times.

Dems won’t enforce: The governor and state attorney general of North Carolina are both pro-abortion Democrats and have not moved to implement it. Their terms end in January 2025.

GOP taking action: Republican Senate President Philip Berger has said Republicans “will take immediate action to ensure North Carolina’s late-term abortion ban is reinstated.”

Life on the ballot: Clinics have continued aborting babies in North Carolina after the Supreme Court’s Friday ruling, and the state is poised to remain an abortion haven in the South for the foreseeable future unless Republicans win veto-proof supermajorities in the state legislature this year. They need three House seats and two Senate seats, according to fivethirtyeight.com.

State supreme court elections in November will determine whether Democrats retain a 4-3 majority or Republicans flip control of the court.

WEST VIRGINIA

In West Virginia, state officials have said that a pre-Roe ban criminalizing abortion except to preserve the mother’s life is enforceable due to Dobbs.

“We do not have a ‘trigger ban’ for abortion, but it is now a felony (§61-2-8) w 3-10 years,” tweeted West Virginia Delegate Kayla Young on Friday.

According to Metro News, a federal court placed an injunction on the law in 1975, and it’s unclear whether it can be enforced.

Abortion-free: West Virginia’s only abortion mill has stopped killing babies as of Friday.

Republican Gov. Jim Justice praised the Dobbs decision Friday and declared that he “will not hesitate to call a special session after consulting with the Legislature and my legal team if clarification in our laws needs to be made.”

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey also announced that he will issue a legal opinion informing state lawmakers how to proceed “to save as many babies’ lives as humanly and legally possible,” The Center Square reported.

A constitutional amendment approved by West Virginia voters in 2018 states that the West Virginia Constitution does not include a “right to abortion.”

Other states to watch

A number of other Republican-led states are likely to enact new abortion restrictions after Dobbs.

Florida: In Florida, a 15-week abortion ban signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year is set to take effect July 1. The Florida Supreme Court recognized a “right” to abortion in the state constitution in 1989, but all of the court’s current justices were appointed by Republican governors, and three of the seven are DeSantis appointees.

DeSantis said Friday that Florida will “work to expand pro-life protections.”

Nebraska: Republican leaders have also signaled they will seek further restrictions in Nebraska, where Republicans control the state government but a proposed trigger law failed to clear the legislature this spring. In the meantime, abortion remains legal in the state up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Virginia: On Friday, Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he will work to tighten Virginia’s abortion limit from around 26 weeks to 15 weeks, by which time babies in the womb feel pain. Republicans control the Virginia House of Delegates, but Democrats narrowly control the state Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw has pledged that Democrats will kill pro-life bills. The next Virginia Senate elections are in 2023, and Republicans need two seats to retake the chamber.

Youngkin told conservative activists Tuesday night that he would sign “any bill … to protect life” that makes it to his desk.

Kansas: In August, Kansas residents will vote on an amendment that would declare that the state constitution provides no “right” to abortion and open up the possibility for new pro-life measures. The state supreme court found a “right” to abortion in the Kansas Constitution in 2019.

Republicans have a supermajority in the Kansas legislature, and pro-abortion Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelley faces a tough re-election bid in November.

Montana: In Montana, abortion remains protected by a 1999 decision from the Montana Supreme Court that Republican leaders are actively challenging, according to the Montana Free Press. “All eyes in Montana need to be on our own judicial branch of government,” Montana Senate President Mark Blasdel and House Majority Leader Sue Vinton said in a joint statement Friday. Montana has a blocked 20-week abortion ban.

Alaska: Republicans have also made renewed calls for restrictions in Alaska, which has had strong abortion protections for decades despite the state’s conservative leanings. In November, Alaska voters will decide whether to call a convention that could change the state constitution in favor of life.

 

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