Roe v. Wade: The Fallout

Yesterday, we took a just-the-facts + a 360° look at the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Today we’ll be taking a look at its fallout – namely how state legislators, the legal system, and companies have reacted to the ruling so far.

✍️ Let’s dive in… Abortion is now illegal in 13 states as of Monday, either due to ‘trigger laws’ that came into effect immediately following the SCOTUS ruling, or regulations previously deemed unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade that were never repealed.

• A judge in a 14th state (Louisiana) temporarily blocked enforcement of its abortion ban yesterday, while a judge in a 15th state (Utah) issued a two-week stay on its near-total abortion ban last night; both are expected to eventually take effect.

🔄 On the flip side: California’s Democrat-led legislature passed a bill last week shielding abortion providers from civil penalties imposed by other states, while the governors of Massachusetts and Minnesota signed executive orders prohibiting state agencies from assisting other states’ abortion investigations.

• Many companies have also committed to covering travel costs for any employee living in an illegal state who seeks an abortion in another state, including Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Disney, Uber, Netflix, and JPMorgan Chase.

👀 Looking ahead… Legal experts say the next battle over abortion is expected to center around the pill mifepristone, which was responsible for more than half of all US abortions in 2020.