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Trigger laws: Where is abortion already banned in the wake of the Dobbs decision?

After the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to overturn Roe v. Wade, a number of trigger laws took effect, banning abortions

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People attend an abortion-rights protest at the Utah State Capitol, Friday, June 24, 2022, in Salt Lake City.

Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

After Roe v. Wade was overturned last week, some states saw trigger laws banning abortion take immediate effect and clinics that previously offered the procedure shut down right away, NPR reported.

In other states, trigger laws were implemented following officials’ certification or the lifting of court injunctions that stopped previous legislation from being enacted. And some states will see bans on abortion take effect in the coming days and weeks. 

Here’s a rundown of where red states stand as of Monday morning: 

Immediate bans on abortion, according to Guttmacher Institute:

  • Kentucky: The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade triggered a law that has been in place since 2019. Abortion providers stopped offering the procedure immediately.
  • Louisiana: Enforcement of the state’s trigger law was blocked by a Louisiana judge and abortions will remain accessible in the state for the foreseeable future. A hearing is scheduled for July 8, according to The Hill.
  • South Dakota

States with trigger laws that went into effect following governmental officials’ certification or the lifting of injunctions:

Trigger laws that have not gone into effect yet but will take effect within 30 days of the Supreme Court’s decision:

  • Idaho: Idaho’s trigger law will take effect next month. The law makes providing an abortion a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, U.S. News reports.
  • Tennessee: The attorney general is asking for the injunction on a 2020 law that prohibits abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy to be lifted so that the ban can go into effect even sooner, The Tennessean reported.
  • Wyoming: The state’s “law in waiting” is supposed to go into effect five days after Roe v. Wade is overturned. It will allow exceptions in the case of incest, rape and when the mother’s life is in danger.

Other states that already had restrictive laws or bans on abortion in place:

  • Texas
  • Oklahoma