Here are some details on the newest American abortion bans, by state.
* Important note: Supporters of reproductive rights have filed multiple lawsuits against this type of law. None of these early abortion bans are currently in effect or are being enforced.
Alabama – No abortion after 0 weeks. Allows exceptions if the woman’s life is threatened. No exceptions for rape or incest.
Arkansas — No abortion after 18 weeks. Allows exceptions for rape, incest or medical emergencies.
Georgia – No abortion after 6 weeks. Allows exceptions if the woman’s life is endangered, if the pregnancy is deemed “medically futile” and in cases of rape or incest if the woman files a police report.
Kentucky – No abortion after 6 weeks. No exceptions for rape or incest. Allows exceptions if the woman’s life is endangered.
Louisiana – No abortion after 6 weeks. No exceptions for rape or incest. Allows exceptions if the woman’s life is endangered or if the pregnancy is deemed “medically futile.”
Mississippi – No abortion after 6 weeks. No exceptions for rape or incest. Allows exceptions if the woman’s life is endangered.
Missouri – No abortion after 8 weeks. No exceptions for rape or incest. Allows exceptions if the woman’s life is endangered.
Ohio – No abortion after 6 weeks. No exceptions for rape or incest. Allows exceptions if the woman’s life is endangered.
Utah – No abortion after 18 weeks. Allows exceptions for rape or incest if the doctor performing the abortion verifies that the incident was reported to law enforcement. Allows exceptions if the woman’s life is endangered. ( compiled by Carrie Feibel, Sarah McCammon and Carmel Wroth, NPR).
The Republican strategy is to get the issue before the Supreme Court and have Roe vs. Wade overturned.
Meanwhile, the extreme right wing is making hay while the sun shines, introducing a variety of legislation that is anti-black, anti-immigrant, anti-women, indeed anti-everything except rich, “deserving” men. Whether all or even some, of the laws passed survive their visits to the Courts (themselves often dominated by Republican lawyers) is another matter. But the threat to human rights and a civilised society is clear.
As for abortion, I believe forcing women to have children they can’t, or won’t, cherish and bring up as decent citizens is a sin against (especially poor) women, the family and the rest of us. I suspect, but can’t prove, that there could be a correlation between the unwanted child and later anti-social behaviour: drink, drugs, domestic violence, gang membership and use of guns against other members of society. We need a balanced, happy well-adjusted population, not scores of aggrieved and unhappy, unwanted kids.
If there are any American legal experts here, could you please explain how these bans don’t already violate Roe? And if they do, why haven’t the circuit courts struck them down? I understand why the Supreme Court as currently constituted won’t enforce the law, but how these bans can stand against an appeal is beyond me.
What makes the war on abortion in America so scary is that there is a possibility it influences the UK. Jeremy Hunt, a candidate to be Britain’s next prime minister, has proposed reducing the time limit for having an abortion from 24 weeks to 12. Boris Johnson, the man most likely to be Prime Minister, is a friend and ally of Trump. Nigel Farage, the leader of the insurgent Brexit Party, also has close links to Trump, particularly via Steve Bannon. I suspect Britain won’t have American-style culture wars for the time being, but it’s increasingly hard to say for sure.
I am not a legal expert, but I am quite a good guesser. My guess is that the the system is corrupted. The legal profession, or a majority of it, have been chosen, trained and subverted to become the weapon which will overturn , not only the woman’s rights over her own body, but all the liberal things, like trying to give blacks a break, improving health and education etc, that originated in Roosevelt’s era after the Second World War. The national right- wing plot to scrap all help and benefits for the old and the poor is extraordinarily powerful, and is barely mentioned. I call it a creeping coup, and the plotters now have a useful idiot to help it in the White House, too. The end of democracy? Not sure yet. The end of government for all the people. Absolutely.