Twenty-five states—all controlled by Republican legislatures—have enacted laws to ban or restrict abortion earlier than the standard previously protected by Roe
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) issued a decision today that will allow doctors to provide emergency abortions in Idaho on a temporary basis while the legal challenge to a dangerous Republican abortion ban continues in a lower court. As this case proceeds, the future remains uncertain for pregnant patients and health care providers and this ruling will not prevent Republican-controlled states from passing future laws that restrict emergency abortion access.
A reminder: Every single Republican-controlled legislature has passed or implemented an abortion ban since Roe fell, and these dangerous laws have majorly disrupted pregnancy care. In states with extreme abortion bans, hospitals are closing down maternity wards, OGBYNs are fleeing their states, and the remaining doctors are making health care decisions out of fear of violating extreme abortion laws.
Today’s SCOTUS ruling reiterates that state legislatures remain the arbiters of abortion access. The best defense against Republicans’ assault on reproductive freedoms is to elect Democrats to state legislatures who will champion reproductive care and counter GOP extremism. The balance of power in the states is especially important given the Supreme Court remains hostile to reproductive freedoms and has demonstrated a repeated willingness to catapult extreme GOP state laws to the national stage to become law of the land – as they did with Dobbs.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee National Press Secretary Sam Paisley issued the following statement:
“The Supreme Court’s dismissal of this critical abortion case signals that dangers posed by extreme abortion bans remain, even while temporary protections go back into effect in Idaho. This decision allows Republicans to continue their attacks on reproductive care through state legislatures across the country. Every state with a Republican legislature has passed an abortion ban, and they have continued to get more and more extreme. Republicans in state legislatures are emboldened to push the limits on their attacks, and our rights continue to hang in the balance. At any moment, the Supreme Court could catapult a Republican state law to the national stage and make it the law of the land, as it did with the Dobbs ruling.
“Given this grim reality, electing Democrats to state legislatures is the most effective line of defense against Republican attacks on fundamental freedoms. The stakes of the 2024 state legislative elections couldn’t be higher – we must elect Democrats who will protect health care and champion reproductive rights.”
The DLCC is the official arm of the Democratic Party with the sole mission of building Democratic power in the states and setting the national agenda at the state level. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
###
