Now that Donald Trump has been elected, everyone is looking at how his presidency might affect the right to have an abortion in the United States.
Trump has said that he won't sign a law banning abortions across the country, but his past actions make us doubt that. During his last term, he chose Supreme Court judges who overturned Roe v. Wade and backed laws that would have made abortion illegal after 20 weeks.
Experts say that Trump could still put a lot of limits on things even if he doesn't directly ban them. The Guttmacher Institute says that policy changes might focus on drug abortion, which made up 63% of all abortions in the U.S. last year. Limiting telehealth services and mail-order abortion pills are two actions that could be taken. This would make it harder for many people to get abortion pills, especially those who live in states that already have limits.
Vice President-elect JD Vance has said he is open to national limits, but he has recently changed his mind and now agrees with Trump that states should make the decision. Because they don't stick to their views, the future is uncertain, and possible shifts will likely be small but significant.
People still strongly support the right to have an abortion. In the most recent elections, vote measures in several states were passed that protect the right to have an abortion. Arizona and Missouri lifted restrictions that were already in place, but Florida's move to support abortion rights just missed getting a supermajority vote. South Dakota and Nebraska, on the other hand, did not want constitutional protections for abortion, which shows that the country is split.
Experts say that early in Trump's new term, actions against medical abortion are likely to happen, which could change how people across the country get abortions.
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