Courts keep weighing in on abortion. Next month’s elections could mean even bigger changes

Two court rulings on Monday gave support to abortion opponents, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Texas could ban emergency abortions if they violate state law and Georgia’s Supreme Court make enforcement possible of the state’s abortion ban.

The rulings are the latest in a legal saga that has played out a number of rulings simultaneously in the U.S. over the past two years — since the nation’s highest court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending nationwide abortion rights and opening the door . to bans and restrictions, as well as to the new legal battles that followed.

Meanwhile, abortion is also one of voters’ top concerns ahead of next month’s elections, including in nine states where abortion is directly on the ballot as constitutional amendments.

Here are five important things to know about the latest abortion developments across the country.

With the consequences of the 2022 verdict in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, President Joe Biden’s administration told hospitals that federal law required them to offer abortion services when the pregnant person’s life was in danger.

Texas denounced the policy, saying the federal government could not impose the right to abortions if it would conflict with the state’s ban on abortions at all stages of pregnancy, with exceptions to protect the woman’s health and life. A federal appeals court sided with the state, ruling in January that the government had exceeded its powers.

On Monday, the US Supreme Court upheld that ruling. The judges did not provide details about their reasoning.

A week after a judge in Georgia blocked the state’s ban on abortion after the first six weeks of pregnancy, the Supreme Court on Monday reinstated it — at least for now.

The state Supreme Court said the abortion ban can be enforced once heart activity can be detected, usually about six weeks into pregnancy and often before women realize they are pregnant, while rejecting the state’s appeal to the judge in takes into consideration. September statement.

It is not clear how many abortions were performed in the state that were not covered by the ban during the week the rules were relaxed. However, some clinics said they were willing to perform abortions after six weeks.

The ruling meant that four states would ban abortion again in most cases after about six weeks of pregnancy.

In another development in late September, a Pronunciation in North Dakota Earlier this month, the scrapping of the abortion ban in that state became official.

This means that thirteen states now enforce a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, up from fourteen.

But the impact of the North Dakota ruling is limited to hospitals in the nation’s second-least populous state.

The only clinic that provided abortions in the state moved from Fargo to nearby MoorheadMinnesota, after the Dobbs ruling was made and the North Dakota ban went into effect.

Court decisions are not the only place where abortion policy decisions are made.

Voters in nine states decide whether to add the right to abortion to their state constitutions.

In Missouri and South Dakota, the measures would overturn current bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy. In Florida, it would lift a ban that takes effect after six weeks.

Nebraska has competing measures on the ballot. One would create the right to abortion until the viability of the fetus, generally considered to be approximately 23 or 24 weeks of gestation. The other would enshrine the current ban, which will take effect after twelve weeks.

In Arizona, Colorado, Maryland and Montana, abortion rights would be enshrined and in some cases expanded. Nevada’s vote would do just that, but to take effect the measure would have to pass a second time, in 2026.

In addition, New York voters will decide on an amendment that would ban discrimination based on pregnancy status, even if abortion is not mentioned by name.

Abortion is also a major issue in elections for office, including the presidential race.

Vice President Kamala Harris has been attention to abortion rights in her presidential campaign. She says she wants that “restore the protections of Roe.” She talked about it on the website Podcast ‘Call her daddy’ this week and in a speech last month in Georgia.

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party nominee, has taken credit for appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe. He says the issue should be a matter for the states, and he recently will vetoing a nationwide abortion ban if Congress were to pass one. He also said he would vote against the ballot measure in Floridaalthough he has also criticized it as too restrictive.