Written by S.E. Cupp, CNN
Ten justices on the Supreme Court have voted to uphold abortion restrictions in Texas and Wisconsin. In June 2016, the court handed down a 5-3 decision to strike down Wisconsin’s law requiring abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals, a law that abortion opponents said would increase the risk of hospital-acquired complications.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, what would happen?
Under the current law, abortion remains legal in all 50 states, but overturning Roe v. Wade — a landmark decision that allowed abortion throughout the nation — could make it more difficult for a woman to have an abortion.
Last Thursday, two anti-abortion groups filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit over the state of North Dakota’s law requiring abortion clinic doctors to have admitting privileges. Similar regulations were blocked in other states.
What would happen in North Dakota?
An advocacy group called Planned Parenthood for North Dakota said in a statement that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, North Dakota would likely follow the path of Texas, where laws including the admitting privileges requirement have been upheld by the Supreme Court. But in North Dakota, a 2016 state law signed by Gov. Doug Burgum became law, one that prohibits the abortion of any infant born alive. The state’s law has not yet been enforced.
Some doctors and legal experts are skeptical that the Supreme Court would make the same decision on overturning Roe v. Wade as it did on overturning the Wisconsin admitting privileges law. And women’s rights activists say that overturning Roe v. Wade could make the punishment for violations of state abortion laws even tougher.