Alabama: Abortion is prohibited
A federal judge on June 24 lifted an injunction against a 2019 state law banning abortion, allowing the law to take effect.
The law allows exceptions to prevent “serious risk to the health” of the mother, for ectopic pregnancy and if “the unborn child has a fatal abnormality.”
Arkansas: abortion outlawed
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge upheld the state’s activation ban, allowing it to go into effect on June 24. The law prohibits abortion except in a life-threatening emergency.
Florida: 15-week ban in effect, but challenged in court
In Florida, a law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy went into effect on July 1. The law includes exceptions for “serious risk” to the pregnant woman and for a fatal fetal abnormality if two doctors confirm the diagnosis in writing. A state judge on June 30 said he would issue a statewide temporary injunction and signed a written order on July 5. But the state also appealed, a move that automatically stayed the judge’s order temporarily blocking the ban.
On appeal, the law remains in effect while litigation continues.
The plaintiffs in the case, Florida abortion providers, asked the state Supreme Court in August to put the 15-week ban back on hold while the appeal is pending.
Georgia: 6-week ban in place but being challenged in court
A state law banning abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy went into effect on July 20 after a federal appeals court allowed the law to go into effect immediately. After the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (which overturned Roe), Georgia’s ban remained on hold for several weeks, until the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a lower district court’s ruling that he had blocked the law.
Abortion providers and advocates have filed a new challenge to the Georgia law in state court, arguing that it violates the state constitution and is unenforceable because it contradicted federal constitutional precedent when it was enacted in 2019 and cannot be revived. The judge, however, declined in August to stay enforcement while the lawsuit played out because he concluded he lacked the authority to issue the preliminary injunction.
Idaho: abortion ban in effect, but parts of it blocked by court
Idaho’s enabling law that banned most abortions went into effect Aug. 25, but litigation continues over some aspects.
The ban prohibits abortions unless necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or in cases of rape or incest that have been reported to law enforcement.
The law was designed to take effect 30 days after the US Supreme Court handed down its decision overturning Roe v. Wade. A federal judge on Aug. 24, however, blocked the ban from being enforced in certain medical emergencies after the Biden administration sued the state, arguing the law opened doctors up to prosecution for abortion care they were required to provide under federal law.
The case could be appealed, possibly leading to the Supreme Court being asked to review.
Indiana: Abortion ban to go into effect September 15th
Indiana’s law banning most abortions takes effect on September 15.
Indiana was the first state to pass a restrictive abortion law after Roe v. Wade, doing so during a special legislative session.
The new law provides exceptions for cases where the mother’s life is at risk and for fatal fetal abnormalities, up to 20 weeks after conception. It also allows exemptions for certain abortions if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.
Kentucky: Abortion bans remain in place while litigation unfolds
A Kentucky appeals court on Aug. 1 reinstated the state’s so-called enabling law that bans abortion as well as a separate law that bans the procedure after about six weeks of pregnancy, siding with Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron and allowing the laws to be temporarily enforced while the case is proceeding to court.
On Aug. 18, the state Supreme Court allowed the laws to remain in place as it plans to hear oral arguments on an appeal of the temporary injunction in November.
Louisiana: abortion ban in place but challenged in court
Louisiana’s abortion-enabling ban went back into effect on Aug. 1, while a legal challenge to the law continues.
The law was temporarily blocked by a state judge in July, but is back in effect after a ruling by a state appeals court allowed the law to be enforced.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which is challenging the law, has filed a petition in the state Supreme Court to reinstate the temporary injunction that had blocked enforcement of the law. The Supreme Court has not responded to this request.
Mississippi: abortion prohibited
Mississippi’s enabling law went into effect on July 7 after the state’s last abortion clinic was unsuccessful in its efforts to block the law. The activation ban prohibits abortions in the state with exceptions only in cases of rape or if the life of the pregnant woman is endangered.
Missouri: abortion prohibited
Missouri’s law banning abortions except for medical emergencies went into effect on June 24.
North Carolina: 20-week ban in effect
A U.S. District Court judge in North Carolina on Aug. 17 allowed the reinstatement of a state law banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, lifting an injunction he had placed on the law before the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe vs. Wade.
In 2019, U.S. District Judge William Osteen halted enforcement and declared the ban unconstitutional based on Supreme Court precedent.
But in his Aug. 17 order, Osteen wrote that “under Dobbs, there is no longer a constitutional right to a pre-viability abortion, thereby depriving the mandate of any constitutional basis from which to enforce the challenged North Carolina laws regulating abortions”.
Ohio: abortion banned around 6 weeks
The Ohio Supreme Court rejected the state’s abortion providers’ request for an emergency stay of the state’s ban on abortions performed after early heart activity is detected, usually about six weeks into pregnancy. The court’s decision means the abortion ban can continue to be enforced as the case progresses.
Oklahoma: Abortion prohibited
Abortion has been unavailable in the state since May, after the governor signed bills allowing for civil enforcement of abortion restrictions.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe, Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor said the state could enforce its pre-Roe 1910 abortion ban, which made abortion a felony punishable by up to five years in prison in addition to preserving the woman’s life.
The attorney general’s office had said SB 612, which takes effect Aug. 27 and imposes stiffer penalties for performing abortions, would become the primary ban on the procedure.
Abortion providers had challenged Oklahoma’s pre-Roe abortion ban and the abortion laws Stitt signed, calling the laws overlapping and contradictory.
South Dakota: Abortion is prohibited
South Dakota’s enabling law, which makes it illegal to perform abortions except for life-threatening medical emergencies, went into effect on June 24.
Tennessee: abortion outlawed
Abortions up to six weeks into pregnancy were available in Tennessee, but the enabling law that took effect Aug. 25 bans abortions at all stages of pregnancy unless necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or serious risk of “substantial and irreversible damage”. of a bodily function. It does not allow abortions in cases of rape or incest.
Texas: Abortion is prohibited
The Texas enabling law went into effect on August 25, establishing new criminal penalties for abortion and providing an exemption only for certain health emergencies. The state additionally has a civil enforcement statute — which authorizes private individuals to file lawsuits against alleged wrongdoers in state court — for abortions performed after about six weeks into pregnancy.
Wisconsin: pre-Roe ban in place but challenged in court
Democratic state officials in Wisconsin have asked a state court to block Wisconsin’s pre-Roe abortion ban, which was allowed to take effect after the high court overturned a federal holding. The 1849 law criminalized abortion in the state, including cases of rape and incest.
The lawsuit asks a state court to “clarify that Wisconsin’s 19th-century abortion ban, with no exceptions for rape or incest, has not been reinstated” and declared unenforceable.
States where abortion bans or extreme limits are on hold due to court ruling
Arizona: state seeks to lift pre-Roe abortion ban
Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is asking a state court to overturn a 1973 court ruling against an abortion ban enacted in 1901. The court heard arguments on the request in August, but the judge said her ruling on the lifting of the order will not come before September 20. Arizona has a separate law banning abortions at 15 weeks that goes into effect on September 24th.
Iowa: GOP governor asks court to revive state’s 6-week abortion ban
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds asked a state court on Aug. 11 to revive a six-week abortion ban that was previously halted in 2019.
In her interview filed in the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Reynolds pointed to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe in June, as well as the Iowa Supreme Court’s separate reversal earlier this month of its own decision of 2018 that had interpreted the state constitution to extend protections for abortion rights.
Michigan: ban temporarily blocked
In Michigan, the state’s pre-Roe ban — a 1931 ban on abortion that was overturned in Roe v. Wade but remained on the state’s books — it was put on hold by a state court in May before the U.S. Supreme Court. After a…
