{"id":267686,"date":"2022-05-08T15:47:16","date_gmt":"2022-05-08T20:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=267686"},"modified":"2022-05-06T21:05:48","modified_gmt":"2022-05-07T02:05:48","slug":"happens-supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/happens-supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade\/","title":{"rendered":"What happens if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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News of the Supreme Court\u2019s draft opinion that appears to overturn\u00a0Roe v. Wade<\/em> has prompted a wave of concern about how undoing the decades-old precedent will change the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Politico, five of the nine justices voted to overrule the decision in conference, or while meeting after oral arguments in December. That majority could change, however, if any of the justices change their votes before the decision is announced in coming weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some have worried that ending Roe would mean women immediately lose access to abortion, that women could face criminal penalties, and that they wouldn\u2019t be able to access certain types of health care.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the ongoing concerns are overblown or false.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Key Takeaways:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • States will determine the legality of abortion if Roe<\/em> is overturned, as well as penalties for breaking state law on abortion.<\/li>\n
  • Health care will still be available to women, including care for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies, which are not abortions. Abortion is the intentional homicide of a preborn child.<\/li>\n
  • The promotion of at-home abortions without medical supervision is likely to endanger women further.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Here are some things to consider:<\/p>\n

    A lot depends on your state<\/b><\/p>\n

    One of the main arguments made for overturning Roe<\/em> is that it overextended the federal government\u2019s authority by regulating an area that should be reserved for the states and their legislatures. More specifically, Justice Samuel Alito\u2019s draft opinion argues that the Court\u2019s previous abortion opinions contained provisions that resembled policymaking. In overturning Roe, the Supreme Court would be allowing states to create their own abortion regulations and laws.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Judges and legal experts have disagreed about the source of this authority but Justice Alito’s draft opinion reads: \u201cAt the time of Roe, 30 States still prohibited abortion at all stages \u2026\u00a0 [Roe] imposed the same highly restrictive regime on the entire Nation, and it effectively struck down the abortion laws of every single State? As Justice Byron White aptly put it in his dissent, the decision represented the \u2018exercise of raw judicial power,\u2019 \u2026 and it sparked a national controversy that has embittered our political culture for a half-century.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    Later, he adds that \u201c[i]t is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cThe permissibility of abortion, and the limitations, upon it, are to be resolved like most important questions in our democracy: by citizens trying to persuade one another and then voting \u2026 That is what the Constitution and the rule of law demand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s likely that pro-life states will heavily restrict (or ban) abortion. For example, the decision to overturn Roe<\/em> is coming in response to Mississippi\u2019s decision to restrict abortions after 15 weeks of gestation. If the Court ends up overturning Roe<\/em>, that law will stand for Mississippi, and many other states will move in some way to restrict abortion as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Currently, more than 20 states have laws that could restrict abortion once Roe<\/em> is overturned. Texas law, for example, would revert to the total ban it had in place prior to the challenge it faced in Roe<\/em>. Other states like Kansas will likely face political battles in which both sides attempt to advance their agenda.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    According to the pro-abortion <\/span>Guttmacher Institute<\/span><\/a>, the following states have pre-Roe<\/em> bans that are not enforced: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Meanwhile, these states have bans intended to take effect after Roe<\/em> is overturned: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Several of these states and Ohio also have laws seeking to limit abortion to the maximum extent the Court allows when Roe<\/em> is overturned.<\/span><\/p>\n

    There are also many pro-abortion states which are not expected to restrict abortion at all, and may even enshrine Roe<\/em> in their state law. This is what the state of New York did in 2018 and what Congressional lawmakers will do if pro-abortion lawmakers succeed in passing the Women\u2019s Health Protection Act.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s unlikely that this will pass in the current political environment but in the event it does, the bill could stop states from restricting abortion. States would likely attempt to challenge the law in federal court, opening the door to more uncertainty on the issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Currently, 16 states and the District of Columbia have laws protecting abortion either throughout pregnancy (Colorado, D.C., New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont) and\/or prior to viability (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Washington).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Women will be able to access health care, including treatments for ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages<\/b><\/p>\n

    Strictly overturning Roe does nothing to directly limit the options women have for obtaining health care. <\/span><\/p>\n

    States may pass abortion bans that cause abortion facilities like those affiliated with Planned Parenthood to shut down. But even in those states, women would still be able to access conventional forms of health care. Overturning Roe wouldn\u2019t limit access to government-provided health care payments, either.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Additionally, the pro-life movement has a sprawling network of charities that provide alternatives to abortion along with many of the services currently offered by Planned Parenthood. According to a study<\/a> by the Charlotte Lozier institute, in 2019, 2,700 pregnancy centers nationwide provided<\/a> nearly $270 million in services. Overall, around two million people received help with more than 486,000 free ultrasounds, over 160,000 STI\/STD tests, more than two million baby outfits, and nearly 1.3 million diapers.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Texas is a recent example of pro-life assistance going hand-in-hand with abortion restrictions. When the legislature passed its Heartbeat Act, it included $100 million in funding for alternatives to abortion. According to CLI, the state saw around 200 pregnancy help centers in 2019 with an estimated $33 million in materials and services.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Will women face criminal penalties for procuring abortions?<\/b><\/p>\n

    State legislatures have a wide range of powers and can theoretically apply criminal penalties should lawmakers choose to do so. However, the pro-life bills that have become law up to this point, like the one in Texas, tend to focus on penalizing the abortionist rather than the woman who procures an abortion.<\/span><\/p>\n

    For example, this is the case for Mississippi\u2019s 15-week ban, which threatens physicians with suspension or revocation of their medical licenses. Congressional Republicans have also advanced federal legislation like the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act and the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act \u2013 both of which reserve penalties for whoever commits the abortion.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Pro-abortion advocates will continue to promote dangerous alternatives to typical clinic settings<\/b><\/p>\n

    Pro-abortion activists have already indicated they will attempt to provide women with abortions in states that ban the procedure. Abortions are already dangerous in clinic settings and will could further threaten women\u2019s health and lives if they are committed underground.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Because of the Biden Food and Drug Administrations’s decision to expand the parameters for abortion pill distribution, women may self-administer abortion drugs that can have severe side effects \u2013 including death. It\u2019s likely that demand for these pills will increase as states continue to restrict abortions and close abortion facilities. States like South Dakota have attempted to restrict or ban the use of the abortion pill regimen, which includes a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    However, these pills can be obtained via mail and carry higher risks under the new regulations promulgated by the FDA. Last year, the agency said that it would remove an in-person dispensing requirement, which made it easier to ensure women received critical screening and consultation from health care providers.<\/span><\/p>\n