(Fwrd Axis) — The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade could be the beginning to allow states to restrict access to birth control, two legal experts have said.
Prior to Friday’s ruling, 13 states put steps in place that were designed to outlaw abortion that would go into effect following the Court’s decision. Following the announcement, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, and are expected soon in Mississippi, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming all put abortion bans in place. Meanwhile, bans in Texas, Idaho, and Tennessee will go into effect in 30 days.
The decision by the Supreme Court does not directly affect access to contraception. However, experts believe that states and counties that want to ban Plan B or IUDs may now have the legal authority to do so.
“The states that are trying to limit abortion from the moment of conception — not even from the moment of pregnancy, as the medical profession would define it — could well try to challenge Plan B, emergency contraception, potentially even IUDs,” Wendy Parmet, director of the Center for Health Policy and Law at Northeastern University told NBC News.
The news comes after the Supreme Court’s decision Friday sparked division among pro-life and pro-choice supporters, leading to protests in Washington.
Supporters of Roe v. Wade have been bracing for this day since May when a draft memo was leaked, prompting the Senate to vote to advance legislation that would guarantee access to abortion nationwide. That bill was blocked in a party-line vote.
The decision was met with cheers from pro-life advocates outside the Supreme Court. The ruling will now see the states get control and currently over half of the states say they will now move to ban abortion as soon as 30 days.
President Joe Biden on Friday called the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade a sad day for the country and vowed to do whatever he can as president to protect women’s rights.
“If any state or local official, high or low, tries to interfere with a woman exercising her basic right to travel. I will do everything in my power to fight that deeply un-American attack,” Biden said.
