FRC Releases New Map Showing What State Laws Protecting Unborn Life Could Look Like After Roe

Which of these will be triggered into action if Roe is overturned? 

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Family Research Council today released an updated map and research showing the status of abortion laws in the states across the nation. The Mississippi abortion case before the Supreme Court could lead to an overturning of Roe v. Wade which would once again allow state legislatures the ability to enact and enforce their own state laws protecting unborn life.

Recent images of five viable babies killed in a late-term abortion facility in D.C. reveal the true horrors of abortion forced upon our nation by Roe. Even if Roe is overturned, abortion at this same late gestational age will still be legal in 20 states. Earlier this week, Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) signed into law a bill guaranteeing a statutory right to abortion through the entirety of pregnancy and denying that unborn children have independent rights.

However, pro-life laws are gaining momentum across the country. Thirty states have a law protecting unborn life by the point of viability, though many states have enacted even stronger protections. With the recent passage of a strong pro-life law in Wyoming, 18 states have laws that protect unborn life from conception, and another four states have laws that protect unborn children when a fetal heartbeat can be detected. If Roe is overturned it is likely these states will be able to enforce these laws for the first time since 1973.

Mary Szoch, Director of the Center for Human Dignity at Family Research Council, commented:

"The recent news of the remains of unborn children found in D.C. has driven home the urgent need to pass legislation protecting life in the womb.  Right now, twenty states and the District of Columbia do not protect unborn children in the womb at any point up until birth. This is tragic and must change. Every child should be fully protected from the moment of conception. We must work for a country where this is true."

Connor Semelsberger, Director of Federal Affairs for Life and Human Dignity at Family Research Council, added:

"America was and always has been a pro-life nation. Because abortion advocates could not convince the American public to legalize this barbaric practice through laws, they used a single court decision to enshrine legal abortion through all nine months of pregnancy across our nation. The nearly fifty years since Roe are an anomaly, not the norm. This new map reveals America's pro-life story before and after this dreadful decision. It also sketches a clear path forward for what laws protecting unborn life can look like in a world after Roe.  We hope that this map will be used by lawmakers to recognize the importance of using the force of law to protect the most innocent among us!" 

To see whether your state will protect unborn life if Roe is overturned, check out our interactive map.

To learn more about a Post-Roe America, read our publication.

SOURCE Family Research Council Action