As Trump returns, state lawmakers pursue bills that would treat abortion as homicide | Abortion

toLawmakers in at least four states have introduced bills this year that would change the legal definition of “murder” to include abortion — proposals that pave the way for states to charge abortion patients with murder.

Pregnancy Justice, a group that tracks these types of efforts, says it has recorded more “kill” bills this year Ever. miscarriage Bans typically penalize providers, not patients.

“This raises a huge concern — whether we’re seeing more than we’ve seen in the past in one legislative session already, or they’re not generating the level of outrage or interest or scrutiny that they have in years past,” he said. Dana Sussman, Senior Vice President of Pregnancy Justice. “The more of these types of bills are introduced, the more people are unaware that they even exist, and the less extreme they seem to be.”

with Donald Trump After his return to power in Washington, D.C., supporters and opponents of abortion rights are waiting to see how the new president will handle one of the most divisive issues in American life. But red state lawmakers have already introduced a host of anti-abortion proposals over the past few weeks.

In addition to the “murder” bills, many of these laws are targeted Access and seek abortion pills—which account for more than 60% of abortions in the United States Limiting the ability of minors to obtain abortions. And in at least two states, Montana and Missouri, lawmakers are also seeking to implement legislation that would in effect repeal abortion protections included in recent ballot measures.

Last year, as the election loomed over lawmakers’ heads, states passed fewer abortion-related laws than in the previous five years, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. But this year, Kimiya Forouzan, senior state policy adviser at the Guttmacher Institute, suspects that lawmakers will take a Trump win in 2024 as a green light to pursue anti-abortion policies more aggressively.

“There will generally be encouragement for state legislators who oppose reproductive and sexual health and rights under the new administration,” Forouzan said.

“Murder” and “fetal personality”

Bills that redefine abortion as “murder” strengthen the legal principle known as “fetal personhood,” which seeks to give fetuses legal rights and protections – sometimes at the expense of the woman who carries them. If fully enacted, fetal personhood would not only prohibit abortion, but would rewrite entire areas of American law, from traffic regulations to taxes. So far in 2025, lawmakers in at least six states have introduced bills to enhance fetal personhood, while… Trump has infiltrated the language of fetal personhood In one of his executive orders.

“Kill” bills have been introduced in Indiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. the Oklahoma bill Not only does it explicitly strip away protections that prevent patients who have abortions from being sued, it also separately prohibits anything that might “direct, advise, encourage, or require” an abortion. Pregnancy Justice fears this language could have implications for freedom of expression rights. It can be used to attack Abortion funds and supporters share information with people in need.

The Oklahoma bill was co-authored by Republican Senators Dusty Devers and Warren Hamilton, both of whom belong to a far-right movement known as “Abolition of the penalty for abortionWhile the mainstream “pro-life” movement eschews the idea of ​​punishing women for having abortions, abortion abolitionists believe that if abortion is murder, then abortion patients should be treated like murderers and punished accordingly.

“I think we will start to see these exceptions for pregnant women eliminated, so that pregnant women could also be criminalized under blanket abortion bans in states,” said Elizabeth Smith, director of state policy and advocacy at the center. for reproductive rights. “I think all of this seems fairly hypothetical to most people — unless, of course, they or a loved one or friend live in an embargoed state and need to get care. But it’s crucial to say that anti-abortion people have made their goals clear.” Final.

Limits of abortion pills

In the years since Roe’s downfall, anti-abortion activists have launched attacks after attacks on abortion pills, or medical abortions, which are increasingly facilitated by mail. In the spring of 2024, more than 19,000 abortions were performed per month Through telehealth appointments, which rely on the mail to deliver pills, According to #WeCounta research project of the Planned Parenthood Association.

“Mail-mail medical abortion poses an existential threat to the anti-abortion movement,” said Rachel Repoucher, dean of Temple University Law School. “It’s hard to police.”

But the red states are going to try. Enter Indiana, which bans almost all abortions three sporadic Bills It would prevent people from sending abortion pills to individuals in the state. One of these laws also prohibits the possession of abortion pills.

I finish Oklahoma and TennesseeIn Tennessee, which bans almost all abortions, lawmakers have introduced similar bills that would also prevent people from mailing abortion pills — and, in the case of Tennessee’s bill, make them liable for $5 million if those pills are used in an abortion.

Among the bills passed by Indiana also is to reclassify mifepristone and misoprostol, drugs commonly used in abortions in the United States, as controlled substances. This bill mirrors a similar proposal in Texas, where abortion is prohibited Lawmakers have also provided A set of bills to stop the flow of abortion pills. Both attempts also follow in the footsteps of Louisiana, which last year became the first state in the country to classify mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances. that step, Doctors warnedIt can put women’s lives at risk, because medications can treat postpartum hemorrhage and other conditions.

Restrictions on the possibility of abortion for minors

In 2023, Idaho became the first state in the country to ban people from taking minors across state lines to get abortions without parental consent — a practice lawmakers called “abortion trafficking.” Lawmakers in Mississippi, Missouri and New Hampshire are taking up Idaho’s mantle with similar legislation that would restrict people from helping minors get abortions through pills or helping them travel to a state where the procedure is legal. (Mississippi bans almost all abortions, but they are currently permitted in New Hampshire and Missouri.)

Another bill in South Carolina – which allows abortion up to six weeks into pregnancy – proposes abolishing the legal process known as judicial bypass. For decades, minors have used this process to ask courts to grant them the right to undergo the procedure without involving their parents.

Abortion rights advocates warn that restrictions on minors’ access to abortion often herald a broader threat Restrictions.

“Every ban we’ve seen on adults’ access to care started with a ban on youth access to care,” Smith said he said last month.