Many states are taking action after gaining the power to decide on abortion.
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that guaranteed a woman's right to an abortion, states are taking action.
The court's ruling rolled back constitutional protection for abortion rights, giving each state the power to decide.
Several states had trigger laws in place that immediately banned abortion if Roe was overturned. Others guarantee the right to an abortion under state laws or their constitutions.
Some states are now introducing new laws, emboldened by the Supreme Court's decision.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order Saturday to protect people seeking or providing abortions in the state from legal repercussions in other states, he said in a Tweet.
Neighboring states are expected to severely restrict abortions, but Walz vowed to protect abortion rights as long as he is in office, according to his tweet.
Utah's abortion ban went into effect on Friday, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Utah Legislature allowed a 2020 law prohibiting all elective abortions in the state to go into effect. The law makes exceptions for circumstances involving rape, incest or medical emergencies.
Under the law, abortions would be allowed for women at risk of death or serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. Abortions are also allowed if two maternal fetal doctors find that the fetus has a lethal defect or a severe brain abnormality that is diagnosable.
An emergency motion to end an injunction against a 2019 Alabama law that made abortion illegal was granted Friday, hours after the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"Thus, Alabama's law making elective abortions a felony is now enforceable," said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall in a statement. "Anyone who takes an unborn life in violation of the law will be prosecuted, with penalties ranging from 10 to 99 years for abortion providers."
The Human Life Protection Act makes it unlawful "for any person to intentionally perform or attempt to perform an abortion" unless "an abortion is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk to the unborn child's mother." There are no exceptions for rape or incest.
Similarly, in Ohio, a previously blocked bill that banned abortion after about 6 weeks was allowed to go into effect on Friday.
Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor announced the state trigger law banning abortions has gone into effect after the Supreme Court voted to strike down Roe v. Wade.
“As a result ... the authority of the State of Oklahoma to prohibit abortion has been confirmed, and the State of Oklahoma may enforce” statutes prohibiting abortion throughout pregnancy, O’Connor wrote in a release sent to state lawmakers Friday.
In a press conference later in the afternoon, he called the Supreme Court’s ruling “the most lifesaving decision in the history of our nation.”
Gov. Kevin Sitt also appeared at the press conference, during which he praised the court’s decision.
“You know when I ran for governor, I promised Oklahomans that I would sign every piece of pro-life legislation that hit my desk. and I'm thrilled to have kept that promise,” he said.
Last month, Stitt signed into law the strictest abortion ban in the U.S., effectively ending access to the procedure in Oklahoma.
