An incoming new president and state legislative sessions ramping up are likely to bring more changes to abortion policy across the U.S., which is still settling after the seismic shift in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door to state bans.
State lawmakers across the country have introduced at least 400 abortion-related bills so far.
On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in for a second term. His positions on abortion have sometimes been inconsistent. But no matter where he lands on some issues, his administration will be a contrast with President Joe Biden, who has favored abortion rights at every turn.
Here is a look at the latest developments.
3 states can keep trying to roll back abortion pill access
Most U.S. abortions are now performed with medication rather than surgical procedures and much of the anti-abortion effort is aimed at limiting access to those pills. A lawsuit seeking to restrict access to mifepristone, one of the two drugs usually used together for medication abortions, picked up some steam this week.
A federal judge on Thursday ruled Idaho, Kansas and Missouri can revive an attempt to roll back the federal approval of mifepristone, making it harder to get.
The states want it to be allowed only in the first seven weeks of pregnancy, rather than the current 10, and to require three in-person doctor’s visits, eliminating telehealth prescriptions. The states argue that efforts to provide access to the pills “undermine state abortion laws and frustrate state law enforcement,” according to court documents.
The Supreme Court rejected a similar effort last year, saying anti-abortion doctors and their organizations did not have the legal standing to challenge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approvals.
Stockpiling abortion pills
Abortion rights advocates worry Trump’s administration could start enforcing the Comstock Act, a 19th century law barring materials used in abortions from being mailed, which hasn’t been enforced for close to 100 years.
While Trump has said he doesn’t plan to restrict medication abortion, he also said “things change,” leaving open the possibility.
This month, New Jersey became the latest Democratic-controlled state to start stockpiling abortion pills. Other liberal-leaning states, including California and Massachusetts were already stockpiling them.
An Indiana lawmaker has proposed…