Abortion opponents unveil strategy to undermine state protections

Source: The Hill

11/12/24 6:16 PM ET


Anti-abortion groups are plotting an aggressive postelection strategy to undo federal and state protections for abortion, including ballot measures passed in the past two years after the end of Roe v. Wade.

The strategy outlined in Students for Life’s “Make America Pro-Life Again Roadmap” includes filing lawsuits challenging the federal regulation of the abortion pill and pushing for the passage of legislation in states that target the use, sale and distribution of abortion medication.

The effort will kick off in earnest next year. The group believes their strategy of lawsuits and legislation will be able to successfully circumvent the states that have enshrined abortion protections in their constitutions “We have a siege engine ready for these legal walls that we’ll face at some state legislatures and legislative levels and also the federal level,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life. “Even if your state has said abortion is now constitutionally protected, that doesn’t mean every action of abortion, every type of abortion.”

Many of the bills target mifepristone — one of the drugs commonly used in medication abortions. Some seek an outright ban, while others seek to replicate Louisiana’s legislation that classifies the drug as a controlled substance. Others aim to restrict access by claiming the drugs pose environmental risks. At least one piece of legislation argues that the chemicals in abortion pills pose a public health threat once they are passed through a person and then flushed into wastewater.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4987063-abortion-opponents-unveil-strategy-undermine-state-protections/