U.S. Repro Watch, December 18

U.S. Repro Watch provides periodic updates on news of interest on U.S. reproductive rights. Here are a few recent items you won’t want to miss.

1. State laws on reproductive health care continue to reflect a divided nation, according to the Center’s new 2024 State Legislative Wrap-up report.

• The report, released December 13, focuses on bills related to abortion, maternal health care, and assisted reproduction. To develop it, the Center’s U.S. State Policy and Advocacy team tracked and examined nearly 2,000 bills in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
• Learn about six key takeaways from the report.

2. Texas lawsuit against New York doctor presents challenges to shield laws.

• The Texas lawsuit was filed on December 12 against the New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a Dallas woman through telemedicine.
• New York and 17 other states enacted shield laws, which protect abortion providers and helpers from out-of-state prosecutions, after the U.S. Supreme Court took away the constitutional right to abortion in 2022.
• The challenge could have a chilling effect on doctors prescribing and mailing abortion drugs—especially those unaware they’re protected by shield laws.

3. A bill proposed in Tennessee would ban the mailing and delivery of abortion drugs into the state.

• The bill targets anyone mailing or delivering medication abortion into Tennessee. Under the bill, they could be sued for “wrongful death” of a fetus and be subject to a $5 million penalty.
• The bill would lay the groundwork for civil lawsuits against abortion drug manufacturers, distributors, and delivery services—even volunteers or family members who help a pregnant person access abortion-inducing medications from out of state.
• This year, seven states introduced bills attempting to restrict medication abortion across state lines, according to the Center’s 2024 State Legislative Wrap-up.

4. Lawmakers have pre-filed anti-abortion legislation for 2025, providing a preview into what’s to come next year.

• In Missouri, legislators have introduced several bills to undo an amendment overwhelmingly approved by voters enshrining the right to abortion into the state constitution. The November vote in Missouri marked the first time voters in a state with a total abortion ban have successfully amended their constitution to protect reproductive freedom.
• South Carolina lawmakers have again introduced a total abortion ban as well as a bill that would punish people who get abortions with the death penalty.
• An Oklahoma lawmaker is seeking to make the state’s total abortion ban even stricter by taking out the words “medical emergency” and changing the exception to read “only to preserve the pregnant woman’s life.”

More than 650 bills on abortion were proposed by state lawmakers during 2024. They included approximately:

• 300 proactive bills to protect or expand access to abortion, including interstate shield protections, state statutory protections, state public funding, expanded insurance coverage, and repealing criminal penalties. Ultimately, 30 proactive bills and 12 proactive resolutions were enacted.
• 350 restrictive bills to limit abortion access, including gestational bans, abortion support bans, medication abortion restrictions, and anti-abortion center funding bills. Twenty-two of those bills and six restrictive resolutions were enacted.

Read the Center’s 2024 State Legislative Wrap-up report to learn more.