Roe v Wade: List of US states that could ban abortion

As American citizens sit tight over Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade, they simultaneously ponder over how a woman’s bodily autonomy has metamorphosed into a heated divisive issue. 

According to a report released last year by the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-life organization, 22 states in the country will immediately implement anti-abortion laws if Roe v. Wade is overturned. The ripples of the move will reach over 40 million women belonging to the childbearing age group. 

According to the New York Post, the 22 states are-

Kentucky

South Carolina

Wisconsin

Texas

Arkansas

Idaho

Iowa

Alabama

South Dakota

Wyoming

Arizona

Utah

Michigan

Missouri

Ohio

West Virginia

Georgia

North Dakota

Tennessee

Mississippi

Louisiana

Oklahoma

Also Read: A new America: What happens if Roe v Wade falls

Nine of these states have restrictions that date far before the landmark decision was put into place. On the other hand, another 12 states have restrictions on six- or eight-week abortions that are currently not enforced. 

Also Read: US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade draft opinion exposes partisan fissures

Meanwhile, Texas has one six-week abortion restriction currently in effect, and four other states have constitutions that bar one’s right to abortion.

States like Florida, Indiana, Montana, and Nebraska, all controlled by Republicans, are also set to pass anti-abortion laws. 

Also Read: Roe v Wade: President Biden urges Congress to protect abortion rights in US

Florida, the Sunshine State, already has an extreme 15-week abortion restriction that is scheduled to be enforced in the month of July. The restriction does not bar pregnancies caused by incest or rape, but merely the ones that threaten the life of an expecting mother. 

On Monday, a leaked draft published in a report by Politico revealed that the US Supreme Court was considering overturning the Roe v. Wade case of 1973 that made abortion legal in the country.