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Roe v. Wade, a historic judgment that established a woman’s 14th Amendment right to an abortion, was overturned by the Supreme Court on Friday.

The majority judgment, written by Justice Samuel Alito, stated, “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

overturning roe will have far-reaching effects on persons seeking abortions and on those working to expand access to them. Abortion will undergo significant shifts in the political, economic, and social climate in many jurisdictions.

This will be the post-Roe world we now will live in.

Abortion Laws in the United States
Today, abortion laws are very different from one state to the next.

Current laws in Texas are the strictest in the country, effectively outlawing abortion beyond the sixth week of pregnancy (when most women are unaware they are pregnant).

In the remaining 49 states, abortion laws are widely inconsistent. Some of the more progressive states provide legal abortion to all pregnant persons for the first six months of their pregnancies (or longer in cases of medical emergency), while others make it practically hard to obtain an abortion.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization challenged a new law that would virtually make any abortion in Mississippi illegal after 15 weeks of gestation.

At least 21 states are likely to outlaw abortion soon.

Twenty-one states in the United States — mostly in the Midwest and the South — have amendments, pre-Roe rules, or so-called “trigger legislation” on the books that could effectively ban abortion immediately if Roe is reversed.

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming have all joined in the past few months.

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have enacted abortion protection laws, or become “sanctuary states.”

In light of the ruling, US Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement saying that individual states should be permitted to “keep abortion legal within their borders.”

According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, at least eight coastal states are moving to increase access to abortion. Included are the states and the District of Columbia of California, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont.

California’s new governor, Gavin Newsom, has been a leading voice in the fight for abortion rights in the legislature. A constitutional amendment to “enshrine” the right to abortion in California was proposed in his state, he tweeted in May.

At the state level, the right to an abortion is protected by amendments and statutes in at least 12 more states. There are a total of 12 of these states: Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nevada, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Rhode Island.

Though he acknowledged that “traveling to obtain reproductive care may not be feasible in many circumstances,” Attorney General Garland said, “under bedrock constitutional principles, women who reside in states that have banned access to comprehensive reproductive care must remain free to seek that care in states where it is legal.”

There are 9 states where the outcome is uncertain.

At least two states, Indiana and Nebraska, have been labeled “hostile” territory for abortions by the Center for Reproductive Rights, which means that abortion could become outlawed in those areas.

Recent limitations on abortion in Florida and Montana indicate that these states may eventually decide to outlaw the procedure altogether.

This means that only five states in the US are not either abortion-restrictive “sanctuary states” or likely to overturn abortion restrictions in the near future. Five states fit this description: New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. It is unknown what will happen in certain states now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, despite the fact that abortion is currently legal there.

After decades of being ineffective due to Roe v. Wade, these bans could be “activated” by officials across the United States.

Some pre-Roe state regulations that were deemed unconstitutional by Roe v. Wade could be reinstated now that the right to an abortion has been struck down, as noted by the Center for Reproductive Rights.

As an example:

Some states have banned abortions before viability before Roe v. Wade.
Dilation and evacuation, along with other forms of surgical abortion, were outlawed. Since Roe v. Wade has been overturned, certain regulations may be reinstated.

Before Roe v. Wade, certain states had outlawed self-managed abortions, making it unlawful to have an abortion in your own home.

What it may cost to have an abortion in a post-Roe America;

Abortions can be obtained for free in some states while others charge several hundred or even several thousand dollars.

Abortions can cost “up to $750,” according to Planned Parenthood. For people without the financial means or health insurance to cover an abortion, access is often provided at no cost. However, there are extra “hidden” expenditures, such as leaving work early or finding daycare.

Surgical abortions cost more than medicinal abortions, ranging from few hundred to over $10,000. This wide price range is due to a number of factors, including the gestational age of the pregnancy.

Some shortages will be filled by a network of abortion funding and practical support groups.

Some states’ abortion laws explicitly include public funding, but many others do not. When this occurs, financial aid for abortions becomes necessary.

There are around 90 local groups in the United States solely dedicated to providing abortion cash to specific regions. That could include things like having easy access to and the means to pay for abortion treatment and medication, as well as financial and logistical support, counseling, and child care. Nobody there bothers to verify citizenship or immigration status.

Although abortion programs do not typically pay for the full cost of an abortion, those in need may apply to many groups simultaneously for assistance. (Depending on one’s financial situation, some abortion facilities may also provide discounts.)

When news broke that the Supreme Court might overturn Roe v. Wade, donations flooded the website for the National Network of Abortion Funds, causing it to breakdown.

According to the Brennan Center, abortion bail money will be a necessity in states and jurisdictions that outlaw abortion in the post-Roe United States.

It has been reported that some companies will pay for their employees to have abortions in other states.

Companies like Amazon are beginning to include travel costs for non-emergency medical care in their health insurance plans. Some companies, like Salesforce, are paying for their employees’ transfer out of restrictive jurisdictions.

Both Uber and Lyft are covering legal costs for drivers who are sued for transporting passengers to abortion facilities in Texas and Oklahoma at no cost to the drivers.

Rising poverty and unemployment are expected to disproportionately impact people of color, including Blacks and Latinos, according to experts.

Abortion access disparities along racial and socioeconomic lines, according to experts, would worsen if the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision were to be overturned at the federal level.

According to the decade-long Turnaway Study, people denied abortions are more likely to experience poor health and continue in violent relationships. Another study indicated that once an abortion was rejected, the participant’s likelihood of becoming unemployed increased fourfold.

Black and Latino workers are disproportionately represented in occupations that pay below the poverty line and offer few paid leave options, both of which make it difficult to access care in other states.

For the next front,

Bans on abortion drugs ordered online have been proposed.

If Roe is overturned, the availability of abortion drugs ordered online is likely to be challenged in court.

Abortion pills ordered online are becoming increasingly hard to come by in some regions. Mifepristone has been approved by the FDA for usage up to 10 weeks into pregnancy, making it possible to have abortions at home and increasing access in locations with limited medical resources.

Last Friday, Attorney General Garland issued a statement saying that “states may not restrict Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy.”

In contrast, the states of Arizona, Arkansas, and Texas all prohibit the mailing of abortion pills to patients. Montana, Oklahoma, and South Dakota have all sought but been thwarted by judges on similar limitations.

It’s possible that such rules would indirectly limit women’s ability to have an abortion over the mail. Telemedicine is not an option in the 19 states that require the physical presence of a physician or other medical professional during a medical procedure. In impoverished areas, several states have essentially banned abortion pills by restricting which kind of healthcare providers are allowed to prescribe them.

This year, legislators in a number of states have presented bills to outlaw abortions performed remotely or with medicines.

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