I’ve been seeing a lot of posts since Roe was overturned about how women will no longer be able to get abortions in the event of ectopic pregnancies or other life-threatening situations. Below is a list of all 50 states and their respective abortion laws which heavily disproves that.
Treatment of an ectopic pregnancy is not the same as an abortion. It’s not the same legally nor is it the same morally. Having a medically necessary, legitimate, life-threatening emergency is not at all the same as a woman (or anyone else) intentionally ending the life of an unborn baby out of convenience, poverty, or poor life timing. Anyone who says otherwise is either just ignorant of reality or they’re intentionally muddying the waters and trying to sow dissension.
Roe being overturned simply means that the 50 states get to decide for themselves what their abortion laws ought to be, whereas before it was crammed down by a judiciary of nine unelected people with lifetime appointments who decided for everyone. Since the states can finally decide things on their own, it means there’s more freedom now. Not less.
The laws below are what currently exist on the books (to the best of my ability to find accurate and up-to-date information), which is what the states will go by now that Roe has been overturned.
Every single state has exceptions for medically necessary life-of-the-mother situations. Every single state has exceptions for ectopic pregnancies, which they all define as a medically necessary life-of-the-mother situation and is not defined legally as an abortion.
While doing the research for this, I had difficulty finding hard definitions for “abortion” and the actual laws in the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Illinois. Interestingly, they’re all very blue states. From what I’ve been reading on social media and the news, I figured it would’ve been red states that would be obfuscating definitions and exceptions and actual laws. Go figure.
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