It’s been nearly two years since the Supreme Court announced its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling overturning federal protection for the right to an abortion, marking a momentous victory for anti-abortion activists. That decision was just the beginning – some anti-abortion groups, like Students for Life of America and the National Right to Life, would go on to advocate, in many cases successfully, for anti-abortion laws in every state.
After Dobbs, anti-abortion activists had a head start to their advocacy in 13 states, including Mississippi and South Dakota. State legislators in those places passed laws over the past few years to outlaw abortion shortly after a potential decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had given federal constitutional protection to abortion rights since 1973. Those laws, known as “trigger laws,” automatically banned abortion under most, if not all, circumstances once Roe was overturned in June 2022.
I am an American politics scholar who has interviewed nearly 50 anti-abortion activists from around the country over the past few years to understand how their activism has changed since the Dobbs decision.
It’s been nearly two years since the Supreme Court announced its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling overturning federal protection for the right to an abortion, marking a momentous victory for anti-abortion activists. That decision was just the beginning – some anti-abortion groups, like Students for Life of America and the National Right to Life, would go on to advocate, in many cases successfully, for anti-abortion laws in every state.
After Dobbs, anti-abortion activists had a head start to their advocacy in 13 states, including Mississippi and South Dakota. State legislators in those places passed laws over the past few years to outlaw abortion shortly after a potential decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had given federal constitutional protection to abortion rights since 1973. Those laws, known as “trigger laws,” automatically banned abortion under most, if not all, circumstances once Roe was overturned in June 2022.
I am an American politics scholar who has interviewed nearly 50 anti-abortion activists from around the country over the past few years to understand how their activism has changed since the Dobbs decision.
People pray during a rally in October 2022, encouraging voters to vote yes on a state amendment that would have added a permanent ban to Kentucky’s state constitution.Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Trigger law enforcement
Anti-abortion activists celebrated policy wins as some trigger laws quickly took effect in places like Tennessee and Missouri in 2022. But in other conservative states, like Kentucky and Utah, lawsuits challenging trigger laws prevented these laws from getting enforced.
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