An upcoming new president and the start of state legislative sessions are expected to bring further adjustments to abortion policies in the U.S. The country is still adjusting following the significant change in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing for state-level bans on abortion.
State lawmakers across the country have introduced at least 400 abortion-related bills so far.
President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated for a second term on Monday. His stance on abortion has been inconsistent at times. Regardless of his position on certain issues, his administration will present a distinct contrast to President Joe Biden, who has consistently supported abortion rights.
Here is a look at the latest developments.
3 states can keep trying to roll back abortion pill access
Currently, the majority of abortions in the U.S. are conducted using medication rather than surgical methods, with many anti-abortion efforts focusing on restricting access to these medications. A recent lawsuit aimed at limiting access to mifepristone, one of the key drugs used in medication abortions, has gained traction in recent days.
A federal judge on Thursday ruled Idaho, Kansas and Missouri can revive an attempt to roll back the federal approval of mifepristone, making it harder to get.
The states want it to be allowed only in the first seven weeks of pregnancy, rather than the current 10, and to require three in-person doctor’s visits, eliminating telehealth prescriptions. The states argue that efforts to provide access to the pills “undermine state abortion laws and frustrate state law enforcement,” according to court documents.
The Supreme Court rejected a similar effort last year, saying anti-abortion doctors and their organizations did not have the legal standing to challenge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approvals.
Stockpiling abortion pills
Abortion rights advocates worry Trump’s administration could start enforcing the Comstock Act, a 19th century law barring materials used in abortions from being mailed, which hasn’t been enforced for close to 100 years.
While Trump has said he doesn’t plan to restrict medication abortion, he also said “things change,” leaving open the possibility.
This month, New Jersey became the latest Democratic-controlled state to start stockpiling abortion pills. Other liberal-leaning states, including California and Massachusetts were already stockpiling them.
An Indiana lawmaker has proposed criminalizing shipping the drugs to individuals in the state. Several other states already have similar laws, which are among the priorities for anti-abortion groups.
Some blue states have laws intended to protect providers who use telehealth to prescribe pills and mail them to states with bans. The practice accounted for about one-tenth of abortions in the U.S. by June 2024, one study found.
Lawmakers considering new round of ballot
questions
Voters in seven states approved ballot measures for constitutional amendments on reproductive freedom in November and more states could see ballot measures in coming years.
Lawmakers in Hawaii and Virginia, where the legislature is controlled by Democrats, have proposed reproductive freedom amendments for 2026. The Virginia resolution passed the House of Delegates last week. But it needs approval from the Senate and then from both chambers again next year.
Missouri was the only state with a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy to adopt an abortion-rights amendment in November. A judge invalidated the ban, but no clinic has opened as abortion rights advocates press courts undo other regulations that they say make it impossible to operate. Missouri lawmakers already are pushing measures to ask voters to roll back the abortion protections they adopted.
Conservative lawmakers propose tougher restrictions
Lawmakers in three states that now ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy are considering further restrictions.
In Oklahoma, a GOP lawmaker is proposing a law that would allow women who obtain abortions to be charged with murder.
A similar measure was introduced in South Carolina in 2023 but quickly stalled. The National Right to Life Committee, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and other anti-abortion groups oppose penalizing women who seek or obtain abortions.
A measure introduced in Mississippi, which echoes laws adopted in the past two years in Idaho and Tennessee, criminalizes helping a minor obtain an abortion without the consent of a parent or guardian. A key difference: Mississippi’s calls for penalties up to life in prison.
The Tennessee law, which has been put on hold by a judge, has a maximum punishment of a year in prison while Idaho’s law calls for up to five years.
It is too early in legislative sessions to tell which measures could advance.
Emergency care has an uncertain future
Biden’s administration sued Idaho over its abortion ban two years ago, arguing that under federal law it should not be enforced during life- and health-threatening emergencies.
The Supreme Court ruled last year that such abortions can be provided while the issue works it way through the courts.
The Trump administration is expected to abandon the lawsuit. St. Luke’s Health System, Idaho’s largest health care provider, this week sued the state over the same topic, which would have the effect of keeping litigation on the topic alive.
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Associated Press writer Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this article.
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