Protestors face off outside the Supreme Court after a draft opinion stating the intention to overturnRoe v. Wadewas leaked.Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
As of May 3,abortions are still legal in the United States.
That has been true for nearly 50 years, and it doesn’t change just becausean opinion draft stating the intention to overturn the landmarkRoe v. WadeSupreme Court case, which established the right to abortion, was leaked.
For more on the leaked SCOTUS opinion to overturnRoe v. Wade, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
IfRoeis overturned, that does not mean that abortions are immediately illegal nationwide. Instead, the decision to allow abortions falls to individual states.
There are 13 states — Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming — that have so-called “trigger bans” in place that would almost immediately outlaw abortions ifRoeis overturned,according to the Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit research institute focused on reproductive health and rights.
Another five states — Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, West Virginia and Wisconsin — had state bans on abortions in place beforeRoeestablished the nationwide right to abortion in 1973, and the could all enforce them again if the case is overturned. And four more — Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina — have passed bans or extreme limits on abortion thatcould go into effect ifRoefalls. Florida also recently passed a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but it is not set to take effect until July.
The Guttmacher Institute also identifies Indiana, Montana and Nebraska as states that are likely to restrict abortion ifRoeis overturned based on the political leanings of the legislators currently in office.
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source: people.com
