Anti-Abortion ‘Trigger’ Laws Are Going Into Effect Today Across The Country

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The Hill reports, First state abortion bans kick in following Supreme Court ruling:

The first state abortion bans have taken effect after the Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, driving home the immediate consequences of the monumental decision.

Abortion bans are now in effect in Louisiana, South Dakota, Kentucky, and Missouri, and more states are expected to soon follow.

Thirteen states have “trigger” laws that ban abortion in the event of Roe v. Wade being struck down. Not all of those trigger laws go into effect immediately, but in three states they do: Louisiana, South Dakota and Kentucky, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.

In Missouri, which first required the change’s certification from the state attorney general, Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Friday quickly certified that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, putting the ban into effect.

“With this attorney general opinion, my Office has effectively ended abortion in Missouri,” said Schmitt, who is currently running for the U.S. Senate.

His office said there are exceptions to the ban for a “medical emergency.”

“My Office has been fighting to uphold the sanctity of life since I became attorney general, culminating in today’s momentous court ruling and attorney general opinion,” Schmitt added.

Note: I expect Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich aka “Nunchucks” (or is it numbnuts?) to follow suit to aid his failing campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Six other states could soon follow, according to Guttmacher, once their requirement of certification from the state attorney general or other official occurs: Arkansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban had originally brought the issue before the high court.
Three more states have trigger bans that will take effect in 30 days: Idaho, Tennessee and Texas.

In Kentucky, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear blasted the trigger law taking effect.

“Today’s decision triggers an extremist Kentucky law that creates a total ban in Kentucky that will eliminate all options for victims of rape or incest,” Beshear tweeted.

The cascade of state abortion bans illustrates that abortion will be illegal in most cases across many of the states controlled by Republicans. Women in those states seeking abortions could have to travel hundreds of miles, at significant cost, to try to find a provider.

Overall, Guttmacher estimates that abortion is likely or certain to be banned in 26 states. 

“Even with today’s horrible decision, abortion is still legal in most of the country. People who need care should go to abortionfinder.org,” Planned Parenthood said in a statement.

Joint Statement from Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the Liberate Abortion Campaign Rejecting Threats of Violence:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Planned Parenthood Federation of America, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the Liberate Abortion Campaign, a coalition comprised of more than 150 reproductive justice and rights organizations, groups, and abortion providers, today issued a statement rejecting any and all threats of violence related to the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“We reject the tactics and threats of groups that use destruction and violence as a means to an end. They do not speak for us, our supporters, our communities, or our movement. We are committed to protecting and expanding access to abortion and reproductive freedoms through peaceful, non-violent organizing and activism.

“People deserve to both provide and access abortion care in a safe and supportive environment. Abortion providers, health center staff, patients, and supporters of reproductive freedom have long faced daily threats and violence. Anti-abortion activists have harassed, intimidated, and bullied patients for simply seeking abortion and other essential sexual and reproductive health care with little or no accountability for decades. Abortion providers and reproductive freedom advocates have been threatened, stalked, and even murdered for doing their jobs. Health centers have been regularly vandalized and targeted by arsonists, including a Knoxville health center that was burned to the ground less than six months ago.

“We also recognize that those most loudly lifting up the actions of groups threatening violence have historically been silent as health centers, providers, and patients have been under threat for far too long. They continue to attack abortion and those who seek it with increasingly misleading and hostile rhetoric. Let’s be clear: these actors are not concerned with anyone’s safety; their only goal is to score political points and distract from a decision that could erase 50 years of reproductive rights and put millions more pregnant people at risk. The American people do not want lawmakers controlling their bodies, their lives, or their most personal medical decisions, and we will proudly continue to do the work of protecting their health and rights.”

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