Four years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organisation decision, 19 states have moved their laws in a pro-life direction, with several enacting major changes.
Writing about the impact of Dobbs to mark the fourth anniversary of the landmark decision, Steven Ertelt, founder and CEO of LifeNews.com listed Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia – as states that now ban abortion outright. The laws in Florida, Georgia, Iowa and South Carolina have changed as well, protecting unborn babies from six weeks. Laws moving in a pro-life direction have also been enacted in Nebraska and North Carolina, while Utah and Wyoming currently have cases before the courts to improve protections for unborn babies.
“Four years ago, the Supreme Court corrected a grave injustice by overturning Roe v. Wade,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “For nearly fifty years, Roe prevented the American people from protecting unborn children through our elected representatives.”
“Dobbs was not the end of our work – it was the beginning of a new chapter,” Tobias said. “Every child deserves protection, and every mother deserves support. National Right to Life and our state affiliates will continue advocating for policies that protect unborn children, assist women and families, and foster a culture that values human life.”
Ertelt pointed out in his piece that despite the historic victory in Dobbs “abortion remains legal
throughout much of the country, including in many states that allow abortion until birth.”
He emphasised however that significant progress continues to be made, pointing to Missouri, among other places, where voters will go to the polls this November on a measure aimed at enshrining protections for unborn babies.