What would be the legal status of abortion if the Supreme Court were to overrule Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), and Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973), as modified by Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992)? There is a widespread popular belief that such a decision would make abortion illegal throughout the United States, or that an overruling decision would return the country to the state of law that existed when Roe and Doe were decided on January 22, 1973. According to the Life Legal Defense Fund, "There is no basis in fact for either belief."
The group points to U.S. Census Bureau 2003 statistics that reveal the states with effective abortion prohibitions constitute just 9.7% of the U.S. population. Based on current abortion rates, even if Roe fell today, more than a million abortions per year are projected to be performed legally.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005. The Life Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit legal organization based in Ohio, today released a comprehensive study analyzing the current status of state laws on abortion and what would happen if Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the cases that legalized abortion throughout the country in 1973, were to be overturned.
The study concludes that only seven states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) would have enforceable laws on the books that would ban abortion. These states represent less than 10 percent of the U.S. population. For the rest of the states, new legislation would have to be adopted, or significant state case law precedent would have to be overcome. Details of each state�s law can be found on the Fund�s website: www.overruleroe.com.
"The results of this study will come as a surprise to many Americans," said Paul Linton, Special Counsel for the Fund. "Overturning Roe and Doe would send the issue of when abortion should be permitted back to the American people. It will not result in making abortion illegal for most of the country."
The Fund decided to conduct the "Life After Roe" study after several reports with conflicting information began surfacing during the Presidential election. According to the Executive Summary of the study: "There is a widespread popular belief that such a decision would make abortion illegal throughout the United States, or that an overruling decision would return the country to the state of law that existed when Roe and Doe were decided on January 22, 1973. There is no basis in fact for either belief."
"The findings of this study are as important for the general public as they are for our elected officials," said Denise Mackura, Executive Director of the Fund. "Critical legal decisions by our United States Senators should be made on the facts we all have access to � not opinion," Mackura said.
Update: Look for more information at LifeAfterRoe
