Abortion in the United States

===Federal legislation===
Since 1995, led by congressional [[United States Republican Party|Republicans]], the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] and [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] have moved several times to pass measures banning the procedure of [[intact dilation and extraction]], commonly known as ''partial birth abortion''. Such measures passed twice by wide margins, but [[President of the United States|President]] [[Bill Clinton]] [[Veto power in the United States|vetoed]] those bills in April 1996 and October 1997 on the grounds that they did not include health exceptions. Congressional supporters of the bill argue that a health exception would render the bill unenforceable, since the ''[[Doe v. Bolton]]'' decision defined "health" in vague terms, justifying any motive for obtaining an abortion. Congress was unsuccessful with subsequent attempts to override the vetoes.

The [[Born-Alive Infants Protection Act]] (BAIPA) was enacted August 5, 2002, by an Act of Congress and signed into law by George W. Bush. It asserts the human rights of infants born after a failed attempt to induce abortion. A "born-alive infant" is specified as a "person, human being, child, individual". "Born alive" is defined as the complete expulsion of an infant at any stage of development that has a heartbeat, pulsation of the umbilical cord, breath, or voluntary muscle movement, no matter if the umbilical cord has been cut or if the expulsion of the infant was natural, induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion. The [[Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act]] is a proposed piece of legislation that would result in criminal penalties for any practitioner who denies a born-alive infant care.

On October 2, 2003, with a vote of 281–142, the House approved the [[Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act]] to ban intact dilation and extraction, with an exemption in cases of fatal threats to the woman. Through this legislation, a doctor could face up to two years in prison and civil lawsuits for performing such a procedure. A woman undergoing the procedure could not be prosecuted under the measure. On October 21, 2003, the United States Senate passed the bill by a vote of 64–34, with a number of Democrats joining in support. The bill was signed by President [[George W. Bush]] on November 5, 2003, but a federal judge blocked its enforcement in several states just a few hours after it became public law. The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on the procedure in the case ''[[Gonzales v. Carhart]]'' on April 18, 2007, signaling a substantial change in the Court's approach to abortion law.<ref name="nyt-greenhouse">{{cite news | first = Linda | last = Greenhouse | author-link = Linda Greenhouse | work = The New York Times | title = Justices Back Ban on Method of Abortion | date = April 19, 2007 | access-date = January 3, 2010 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/washington/19scotus.html}}</ref> The 5–4 ruling said the [[Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act]] does not conflict with previous decisions regarding abortion.

The judicial interpretation of the [[U.S. Constitution]] regarding abortion, following the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]'s 1973 landmark decision in ''Roe v. Wade'', and subsequent companion decisions, is that abortion is legal but may be restricted by the states to varying degrees. States have passed laws to restrict late-term abortions, require parental notification for minors, and mandate the disclosure of abortion risk information to patients prior to the procedure.<ref>[http://www.lawserver.com/abortion Interactive maps comparing U.S. abortion restrictions by state], LawServer</ref>

The official report of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, issued in 1983 after extensive hearings on the [[Human Life Amendment]] (proposed by Senators [[Orrin Hatch]] and [[Thomas Eagleton]]), stated: "Thus, the [Judiciary] Committee observes that no significant legal barriers of any kind whatsoever exist today in the United States for a mother to obtain an abortion for any reason during any stage of her pregnancy."<ref>Report, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate, on Senate Joint Resolution 3, 98th Congress, 98–149, June 7, 1983, p. 6.</ref>

One aspect of the legal abortion regime now in place has been determining when the [[fetus]] is "[[Fetal viability|viable]]" outside the womb as a measure of when the "life" of the fetus is its own (and therefore subject to being protected by the state). In the majority opinion delivered by the court in ''Roe v. Wade'', viability was defined as "potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability is usually placed at about [[Prenatal Development|seven months]] (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks". When the court ruled in 1973, the then-current medical technology suggested that viability could occur as early as 24 weeks. Advances over the past three decades allow survival of some babies born at 22 weeks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Perinatal Management of Extreme Preterm Birth before 27 weeks of gestation A Framework for Practice |url=https://hubble-live-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/bapm/attachment/file/182/Extreme_Preterm_28-11-19_FINAL.pdf |website=British Association of Perinatal Medicine |access-date=December 4, 2019 |date=October 2019}}</ref>

{{As of|2006}}, the youngest child to survive a premature birth in the United States was a girl born at Kapiolani Medical Center in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]], at 21 weeks and 3 days gestation.<ref>Baptist Hospital of Miami, {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326092358/http://www.baptisthealth.net/vgn/images/portal/cit_449/59/45/73662064factsheetTaylorbaby.pdf |date=March 26, 2009 |title=Fact Sheet }}. (archived from [http://www.baptisthealth.net/vgn/images/portal/cit_449/59/45/73662064factsheetTaylorbaby.pdf the original] on March 26, 2009)</ref> Because of the split between federal and state law, legal access to abortion continues to vary by state. Geographic availability varies dramatically, with 87 percent of U.S. counties having no abortion provider.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prochoice.org/pubs_research/publications/downloads/about_abortion/access_abortion.pdf |title=Access to Abortion|year=2003 |access-date=June 17, 2007 |publisher=National Abortion Federation| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070619183614/http://www.prochoice.org/pubs_research/publications/downloads/about_abortion/access_abortion.pdf| archive-date= June 19, 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> Moreover, due to the [[Hyde Amendment]], many [[Medicaid]] state programs do not cover abortions; as of 2022, 17 states including [[California]], [[Illinois]], and [[New York (state)|New York]] offer or require such coverage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/FilesPDFs/map.pdf |title="Public Funding for Abortion" (map) |access-date=August 8, 2013}}</ref>

The legality of abortion is frequently a major issue in nomination battles for the U.S. Supreme Court. Nominees typically remain silent on the issue during their hearings, as the issue may come before them as judges.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/roe-abortion-decision-fueled-supreme-court-confirmation-wars|title=Roe Abortion Decision Fueled Supreme Court Confirmation Wars|last=Alder|first=Madison|date=November 30, 2021|access-date=December 13, 2022}}</ref>

The [[Unborn Victims of Violence Act]], commonly known as [[Laci Peterson|Laci]] and Conner's Law, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush on April 1, 2004, allowing two charges to be filed against someone who kills a pregnant mother (one for the mother and one for the fetus). It specifically bans charges against the mother and/or doctor relating to abortion procedures. Nevertheless, it has generated much controversy among pro-abortion rights advocates who view it as a potential step in the direction of banning abortion.

In 2021, the [[Women's Health Protection Act]], which would codify abortion rights into federal law, was introduced by [[Judy Chu]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 June 2021 |title=Women's Health Protection Act of 2021 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3755 |access-date=26 June 2022 |website=Congress}}</ref> The bill passed the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] but was rejected by the [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 February 2022 |title=Senate rejects Democratic bill to codify abortion rights |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-rejects-democratic-bill-codify-abortion-rights-rcna17968 |access-date=26 June 2022 |website=NBC News}}</ref>

After the ''Dobbs'' decision, [[Merrick Garland]], the [[U.S. Attorney General]], asserted that under federal law, states do not have the right to restrict access to FDA-approved abortion pills, but Louisiana passed a law to ban mailing them.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/06/24/merrick-garland-fda-abortion-pills-state-bans |title=AG Garland: States can't ban FDA-approved abortion pills on safety grounds |author=Jacob Knutson |date=24 June 2022 |publisher=[[Axios (website)|Axios]]}}</ref>
Legal experts cited as a potentially persuasive precedent the 2014 district decision in ''Zogenix v. Patrick'', in which the court ruled that under the doctrine of [[federal preemption]], Massachusetts could not ban the opioid [[Zohydro]] because it had been approved by the FDA.<ref>[https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/when-massachusetts-tried-to-ban-an-opioid-a-court-said-no-what-about-abortion-pills/ar-AAZL6yO When Massachusetts tried to ban an opioid, a court said no. What about abortion pills?]</ref><ref>[https://www.mad.uscourts.gov/training/pdf/zohydro.pdf ZOGENIX, INC. v. DEVAL PATRICK, in his official capacity as GOVERNOR OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, et al. / ORDER / April 15, 2014]</ref>

On September 13, 2022, Republican senator [[Lindsey Graham]] introduced legislation that would ban abortion nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the patient, named the ''Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sen. Graham introduces bill to ban abortion nationwide at 15 weeks |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-graham-introduces-bill-ban-abortion-nationwide-15-weeks-rcna47530 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Graham's abortion ban stuns Senate GOP |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/13/grahams-abortion-ban-senate-gop-00056423 |access-date=2022-09-13 |website=POLITICO |date=September 13, 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Karni |first=Annie |date=2022-09-13 |title=Graham Proposes 15-Week Abortion Ban, Seeking to Unite Republicans |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/13/us/politics/lindsey-graham-abortion.html |access-date=2022-09-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Graham had previously introduced the [[Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act]], which set the period at 20 weeks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Graham Reintroduces 20-Week Abortion Ban |url=https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2021/1/graham-reintroduces-20-week-abortion-ban |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=Office of U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham |language=en}}</ref>