It has been nearly three months
since the supreme court struck
down roe V. Wade and several
states have continued to
implement far-reaching abortion
bands.
William has the latest.
>> There are 14 states where
abortion bands are in effect.
West Virginia passed a
near-total band that would be
signed by the governor in coming
days.
It is the author of dollars for
life, the antiabortion movement.
Great to have you back on the
newshour.
Indiana's near-total band goes
into effect.
With so West Virginia passed
something similar.
Where do these fit into the
spectrum?
>> This is a familiar script.
These are deeply conservative
states that we expected to pass
sweeping bands.
Republicans are getting cold
feet when it comes to passing
the most extreme forms of
abortion bands.
West Virginia dialed back the
kinds of punishments people
could face for violating an
abortion ban.
Indiana at least in theory has
exceptions to its abortion ban
although if those are actually
available in practice remains to
be seen.
Also that Republicans and red
states are exactly not entirely
sure how to play the politics of
abortion in a post-dobbs
America.
>> It has been a few months
since the ruling and what is the
impact on women and on
providers?
>> We know in many of these
states, people are having to
carry pregnancies to term or to
travel out-of-state to access
abortion.
That, of course, adds levels of
risk to people for whom
out-of-state travel is
complicated.
We have seen evidence that
access to care for people who
are pregnant and not seeking
abortions is being affected in
part because many states are
prescribing pretty harsh
criminal penalties for those
that perform abortions which
creates uncertainty about
exactly what abortion is and
doctors remain reluctant to
intervene when they are afraid
doing so could land them in
serious legal trouble.
>> We have seen pushback from
voters.
In Kansas, voters protected the
right to abortion.
Democrats are certainly hoping
that this issue will continue to
animate their base.
Are these voter pushback's
falling along traditional
partisan lines?
>> It is too early to say.
In every context, there is a lot
of variation.
In Kansas, the answer is no.
We saw kansans overwhelmingly
reject that kind of resounding
loss would've required many
independent and Republicans to
join in for it to be possible.
The number of signatures
gathered, recognizing abortion
rights would far outpace what
you would expect with this kind
of partisan initiative.
We know in many states that may
not vote for Democrats for state
legislature or state office may
well want to vote for abortion
rights.
It always breaks down along
partisan lines when you present
the issue directly to voters.
>> We have seen some court
stripping into block -- courts
stepping into block these bans.
Are these prolonging the
inevitable or are these winnable
flight?
>> -- Fights.
>> We will see state
constitutional battles so people
are saying that these might be a
federal right to choose.
Some of these may fear pretty
well and partisan composition
matters.
Some of these trigger laws worse
so vague that reasonable doctors
could not possibly know what was
allowed and what wasn't allowed.
The fate of those challenges is
a little bit unpredictable
because it is different legal
ground than the one the U.S.
Supreme court has weighed in on.
It is fair to assume that a lot
of places where the judges
making the decisions were
nominated by Republicans looking
at postponing the inevitable
that the overall legal picture
is complicated and chaotic.
>> That is why we always keep
coming back to you.
Thank you so much for being
here.