Policies restricting abortion outnumbered those protecting access in 2019

There was a lot abortion-related legislation in 2019, and a new report from the Guttmacher Institute finds that nearly 60 policies were enacted to restrict abortion, while 36 state-level policies protected the procedure. Here’s a summary: 

• Restrictions: 25 abortion bans were enacted across 12 states. They varied from a total ban on the procedure in Alabama to four states enacting laws that would make abortion illegal if Roe v. Wade were overturned. 
• Protections: Four states — including New York and Illinois — passed laws to codify the right to an abortion. Maine now allows physician assistants and some nurses to perform the procedure. 
• Other reproductive health: There were 46 different policies across states to address the high rates of maternal mortality in the U.S. Thirteen new policies expand contraception coverage and 17 improve sex education.