State Laws Affecting Reproductive Health and Rights at Midyear:

Guttmacher Inst

State Laws Affecting Reproductive Health and Rights at Midyear

So far this year, states have enacted 51 new abortion restrictions; this brings the number of restrictions enacted since 2010 to 282. Although only about a dozen states remain in session as of July 1, these states may well enact additional restrictions before the end of the year. Following the recent pattern of increased restrictions in odd-numbered years (largely because not all legislatures are in session in even-numbered years), states have enacted more restrictions during the first half of this year than during all of last year (see chart). But nonetheless, the number of new restrictions this year is well below the 70 enacted in 2013, due in part to fewer restrictions being enacted in a handful of states—including Kansas, Oklahoma and Arizona—that had adopted multiple restrictions between 2011 and 2014.

Even as states continue to pass new abortion restrictions, the Supreme Court is poised to hear one, and maybe two, major abortion cases in the coming year.  The Court might take a case challenging a 2013 Texas law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital and imposes Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) requirements on abortion clinics in the state. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the law in May. In June, the Supreme Court granted a request for an emergency stay, blocking enforcement of the provisions. Abortion rights supporters are widely expected to file a full appeal to the Supreme Court in the coming months (see The State of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the State of Texas: A Cautionary Tale). In addition, the Court is weighing whether or not to hear a case in the fall centering on Mississippi’s law requiring abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges.

Waiting Periods

Three states moved this year to extend the length of their existing waiting periods, and two additional states adopted new waiting periods. Arkansas and Tennessee mandated a 48-hour wait between counseling and the abortion procedure. North Carolina and Oklahoma enacted measures requiring women to wait at least 72 hours, joining Missouri, South Dakota and Utah, which also require women to wait at least three full days for an abortion (see Counseling and Waiting Periods for Abortion). A new Florida law, which would establish a 24 hour waiting period, has been challenged and it remains to be seen if enforcement of the law will be blocked during the court case.
 
Significantly, three of the five states to adopt waiting period requirements this year also require women to receive abortion counseling at the abortion facility, effectively necessitating two trips. Making multiple trips exacts a high toll on women, many of whom have to travel, often at considerable expense, to obtain the care they need (see A Surge of State Abortion Restrictions Puts Providers—and the Women They Serve—in the Crosshairs). In June, the new “two trip” requirement in Florida was challenged. Although this law went into effect on July 1, opponents have asked that it be blocked as the legal proceedings continue; a decision on that request could happen at any time. Including Florida, as well as Arkansas and Tennessee, the two other states with new legislation this year, 14 states require women to make two trips to obtain an abortion (see map). 
 
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