Abortion battles in states fire up after Supreme Court leak
The Supreme Court’s apparent intention to abolish a nationwide right to abortion, spelled out in a draft opinion leaked this week, will expand the battlefield of the nation’s most highly charged culture war, taking it to states where abortion access has long been assured.
Democrats in blue states are bracing for a wave of legal attacks and other maneuvers seeking to undermine access, and some are even taking steps to enshrine the right to abortion in their constitutions, making it much more difficult to impose a ban in the future.
Republican states are expected to ban or restrict abortion, but tactics also could include an aggressive effort to go beyond their borders to sue abortion providers and find other ways to punish those who assist a woman in securing an abortion.
Divergent paths
The potential to roll back established abortion rights already has emerged in states with divided political control, including Pennsylvania and Virginia. California and Colorado are pushing to protect abortion access in their constitutions, a stronger step than passing a law. Connecticut and Washington state have already taken steps to shield providers from possible lawsuits as they anticipate women seeking abortions would cross state lines.
“We will not allow the tentacles of Texas to get into Washington state,” said Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who vowed to make Washington a sanctuary for those seeking abortion.
Oregon lawmakers included $15 million in their state budget to help pay for people to travel to the state to get abortions and California has a similar bill.
The rhetoric on both sides points to a growing fight over access, with antiabortion advocates hoping to shrink the number of states where the procedure remains legal if Roe is overturned. Roughly half of U.S. states are expected to move quickly to ban or greatly restrict abortion if that happens.
A new law in Idaho, currently blocked by the state Supreme Court, would allow family members of all involved to sue abortion providers, an example of the tactics to come.
“The next chapter of the conflict is really going to be about essentially what happens with interstate conflicts,” said Mary Ziegler, a legal historian at Florida State University’s law school.
Many states with oneparty control of government already have chosen their side. The handful of states with divided politics are up for grabs.
Up for grabs
In Pennsylvania, abortion is legal under state law for the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. The law’s survival is on the line in this year’s race for governor.
Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat who has vetoed recent legislation restricting abortion, is not running because of term limits. The race to replace him is between a similarly minded Democrat, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, and a primary field of nine Republicans who all say they would sign restrictions passed by the Legislature, which is likely to remain under GOP control.
One Republican candidate, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, supports a ban at six weeks of pregnancy without exceptions for rape, incest or saving the life of the mother.
“There is one way and one way only for us to ensure that women have the legal right to continue to make decisions over their own bodies in Pennsylvania and that is winning this governor’s race,” Shapiro said during a conference call with reporters this week.
In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper and other state Democrats have framed the November election as one in which they must prevent the GOP from winning back veto-proof majorities in the Legislature. With every seat up for election in November, Republicans need to gain five seats to restore that control.