After midterms, states weighing abortion protections, bans

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democrats hope to use their newfound political control in some states to guarantee that women have access to abortion, while some GOP strongholds may temper their efforts to deepen restrictions after poorer-than-expected results in the midterms.

Even after their gains this month, Democrats lack the power to codify abortion rights into federal law. That puts the abortion debate squarely on the states to navigate and rework the patchwork of laws that have been in place since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

There will still be a patchwork of policies: In Minnesota, Democrats are planning to add the right to abortion into state law. In the GOP stronghold of Florida, leaders are talking about more restrictions but haven’t settled on a plan. In Pennsylvania, pickups for Democrats mean they can likely stop Republicans from adding anti-abortion language to the state constitution, and in divided states such as Wisconsin, a legislative stalemate remains.

“The real uncertainty is how far states go” with abortion bans, said Mary Ziegler, a professor at the University of California, Davis, School of Law and an expert on the politics of reproduction. Post-midterms, some states might think twice before forging ahead with strict bans.

But, she said, some conservative lawmakers might say: “I don’t see a problem here. We’re fine. We won our elections and our voters want abortion bans.”

The reversal of Roe, which enshrined the right to abortion nationwide, was broadly unpopular among voters. According to VoteCast, a survey of more than 94,000 voters conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago, about 6 in 10 say they are angry or dissatisfied by the decision, while about 4 in 10 were pleased. Among Democratic voters, about 6 in 10...