Two months into the new year and at least 13 states have already introduced legislation limiting or banning abortion. The move to ban abortion after 15 weeks in states across the country follows the Mississippi law, which awaits a Supreme Court decision that many people believe will overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that allowed abortions to the point of fetal viability, or 22 to 24 weeks.
The latest state to pass a bill that restricts abortions after 15 weeks is Arizona, a state with a Republican-controlled Senate that approved the proposed legislation in a 16-13 vote on Tuesday. The restrictive abortion bill not only makes it illegal to have an abortion after 15 weeks of being pregnant, but makes it a crime for doctors to perform such an abortion.