Where the Abortion Fight Stands (Part 2)
With the Trump administration quickly making giant moves to shock the American public and overwhelm the federal government, the issue of abortion rights in the courts is more important than ever.
Since the reversal of Roe v Wade in the Summer of 2022, conservative states across the country have done their best to further chip away at the few abortion protections that tenuously hang in the balance. The speed at which the Trump administration has worked to roll back civil rights protections and fire the federal employees that serve the American people has been lightening-fast, providing cover on the attention front where lingering legal reproductive protections are still at risk.
Below is a list of the states where the issue of abortion rights remains at risk:
Idaho
The State of Idaho implemented an abortion trigger ban a month after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, that prohibited abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with exceptions for the life of the pregnant person and for survivors of rape and incest who have reported the incident to law enforcement. Idaho is one of 12 states across the United States with a near-total abortion ban.
In January of 2024, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case brought by the state of Idaho, challenging the legality of the federal government’s determination that the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires Idaho hospitals to provide abortion care to pregnant people in specific emergencies. The court stayed the injunction the Ninth Circuit had previously affirmed.
Idaho law prohibits Dilation and Extraction (D&Y) procedures. It also includes a requirement that pregnant people must undergo a mandatory twenty-four-hour waiting period and get counseling before procuring abortion services. There is a prohibition on public funding and private insurance coverage for abortion services. Idaho continues to require that a parent or legal guardian consent to a minor’s abortion; alternatively, a judge can approve a minor’s abortion without parental consent.
Last week, the ban was challenged by federal prosecutors in state court. Once President Biden took office, he warned that his administration considered abortion part of the stabilizing care that federal law requires facilities to provide to patients who show up at an emergency room. A month later, Biden began a federal suit against Idaho to challenge the abortion ban that makes it a crime, punishable by up to five years in prison for anyone who performs or assists in an abortion.
The Trump administration has now moved to drop the lengthy fight and moved to dismiss the federal lawsuit against the state of Idaho, which sought to allow abortions in the case of medical emergencies. The Biden administration had previously pursued the case, arguing that federal law requires doctors to perform an abortion if a patient's life is at risk, which is illegal based on the state’s current abortion ban. Now that legal battle, which sought to protect women in Idaho whose pregnancies pose serious health risks by providing a medical abortion in an emergency, appears to be over.
South Carolina
Last Tuesday, protesters gathered outside the South Carolina State House during a hearing on a bill that would prohibit all abortions in the state, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or fetal anomalies. This bill would make it illegal for doctors to perform abortions except under a limited set of circumstances.
The so-called “fetal heartbeat” law that took effect in the state in August 2023 has been consistently called a six-week ban, but attorneys for Planned Parenthood have challenged the law in the state’s high court, arguing that the sounds detected by an ultrasound at six weeks are not a heartbeat in a fetus but rather electrical impulses in a developing embryo. The Tuesday bill, submitted by state Republicans, seeks to delete all mentions of a fetal heartbeat from state abortion law to bypass culpability in the state courts.
The new law would prohibit all abortions in South Carolina except those needed to save the mother’s life or prevent lifelong health problems. This law would revoke the current state law’s exceptions for victims of rape or incest and would also delete an exception for fetal anomalies that would result in death. The new law in South Carolina specifies that birth control, including intrauterine devices and emergency contraception, would still be legal and also protects in vitro fertilization.
In December of last year, the Supreme Court took up a case involving South Carolina’s move to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, in the latest abortion-related case since the justices overturned Roe v. Wade. This case will determine whether conservative states can direct Medicaid funding—funds intended to help low-income individuals obtain necessary medical assistance—away from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.
Last Tuesday, the Trump administration also filed a brief asking the United States Supreme Court to let them join the upcoming oral arguments. It is currently illegal to use federal dollars to pay for abortions under the Hyde Amendment. We await a ruling on the issue of the Trump administration joining the arguments in this case.
Wyoming
The Wyoming House of Representatives voted last Tuesday to override a veto issued by Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon that would require patients to undergo a trans-vaginal ultrasound and a 48-hour waiting period before taking abortion medication. Governor Gordon had issued the veto because he questioned whether it was reasonable and necessary to put victims of rape and incest through medical procedures and waiting periods, given their fragile state.
Republican lawmakers cited the governor’s concerns about a woman’s “well-being” on Wednesday as they moved to override the veto after erroneously claiming an abortion would have more of a negative effect than any of the proposed procedures. The new requirement, which takes effect right away, was criticized by abortion rights advocates who are questioning the law’s constitutionality. “We are saddened so many legislators lack empathy and respect for women’s decision-making authority, but we stand ready to fight this unconstitutional, unnecessary, and unreasonable bill in court,” Christine Lichtenfels, Executive Director of the Wyoming Abortion Access Advocacy Group and Chelsea’s Fund.
The portion of the bill that was not vetoed by the governor immediately placed strict restrictions on facilities for the remaining Wellspring facility that was still performing abortions. The first measure requires facilities to receive licensing as ambulatory surgical centers for patients who do not need hospitalization. The licensing requires a center to have hallways wide enough to accommodate an ambulance gurney and requires doctors who perform abortions to obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Stay tuned for updates on this case and any new challenges related to this issue.
Missouri
Good news in St. Louis! As of last Monday morning, abortions once again became available and accessible in Columbia, Missouri. The procedure had been inaccessible to those living in mid-Missouri since a doctor performed the last abortion at the Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic in 2018. But, following the passage of Amendment 3 in November of 2024, many of Missouri’s targeted TRAP regulations were struck down by a Jackson County circuit judge in February of 2025. An abortion procedure can now obtained in this area of Missouri without fear of legal repercussions.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Missouri are advancing a plan to allow residents to donate to pregnancy resource centers instead of paying any state income taxes. In an unprecedented move to funnel more public tax dollars toward groups that oppose abortion, the conservative proposal would create a 100% tax credit, up from 70%, and a $50,000 annual cap per taxpayer. If this bill becomes law, nearly all Missouri households, barring those in the highest tax brackets, could fully satisfy their state tax bill by giving money to anti-abortion pregnancy centers in Missouri.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter, is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and an analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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