An abortion ban in Texas successfully went into effect, making the procedure illegal when cardiac activity is detected, usually as soon as six weeks and well before many people know they are pregnant.
The big picture: Over a dozen states have tried to enact laws similar to the near-total abortion ban in Texas, but they have mostly been blocked or struck down by federal or state judges. Now, with this current precedent, some of these states could try again.
- North Dakota, Iowa, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia all attempted to implement restrictive bans that were declared unconstitutional.
- Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina and Ohio passed laws that were temporarily blocked.
Other states, like Idaho and Louisiana, have what are commonly known as "trigger laws," meaning that their abortion restrictions could become effective if other similar legislations are passed.
- Idaho's bill barring abortion passed six weeks contains a clause that says the law will go into effect if any U.S. appellate court upholds an abortion restriction based on the cardiac activity of the fetus.
- In Louisiana, their bill banning abortion once cardiac activity is detected would have gone into effect if a similar bill in Mississippi, which was struck down by the Supreme Court, would have gone into effect.
- Some states also have trigger laws that would go into effect if Roe v. Wade gets overturned.
The latest: The Supreme Court late Wednesday allowed the Texas ban to continue in a 5-4 vote, rejecting an emergency application by abortion-rights groups to block the restrictive law....