Opinions expressed in editorials on The Central Trend are the view of the individual writer and are not the opinion of the entire staff of  The Central Trend or the Forest Hills Central staff or administration.

On Friday, June 24, 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned by the United States Supreme Court. 

A document had been leaked earlier in the year alluding that this would occur, and massive debates erupted about the future of reproductive rights and of other Supreme Court cases that rely on the right to privacy. Now that it has been overturned, let’s dive into the actual effects. 

Some states had been preparing for the fall of Roe and developed trigger bans. Trigger bans were passed before Roe v. Wade was determined—intending to ban abortions entirely if Roe was overturned or if a constitutional amendment that prohibited abortion passed. 

Since the overturn, Texas has begun enforcing its trigger ban, which prohibits abortion entirely, and those who perform abortions face criminal and civil penalties. The law prohibits any abortion from the time of fertilization to birth, unless the pregnant person is facing a life-threatening condition due to the pregnancy. This law forces those seeking abortions to cross state lines to states that do not currently have a total ban in effect. Unfortunately, this solution may not last long. Lawmakers in Texas are discussing banning interstate travel for abortions on top of the restrictive ban. 

Texas—along with Oklahoma, Idaho, South Dakota, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas—have been enforcing their trigger bans. These states make up 20.97% of the United States population, according to the U.S. Census Population Estimates on July 1, 2021. 

As of right now, abortions are legal in Michigan. Governor Gretchen Whitmer supports abortion rights and will try to keep them. She has requested that the Michigan Supreme Court take over the case and declare abortion rights to be protected under the Michigan constitution. The whole issue facing Michigan on abortions is that there is a debate over whether it is protected under the Michigan Constitution. The case is currently being determined by the lower courts in Michigan. If the courts decide the right to abortion is not protected, then the 1931 ban—which prohibits all abortions unless they threaten the life of the pregnant individual—will go into effect. 

Other than Governor Whitmer, there are groups trying to keep abortion rights. There is a petition campaign with roughly 750,000 signatures to get a question on the ballot to add reproductive rights to the Michigan Constitution as an amendment. 

Michigan is listed as “hostile” on the Center for Reproductive Rights website for abortion bans. Other states under the “hostile” rating are North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Soth Carolina, and Georgia. 

Only three states are under the Center for Reproductive Rights “not protected” category. These states are New Mexico, Virginia, and New Hampshire. Abortions remain legal in these states but have no legal protection. 

Eleven states have protected reproductive rights: Montana, Nevada, Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, Florida, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine. The final ten states (Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Minnesota, Illinois, New York, Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey) have expanded access to abortion.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade changed the rights of a lot of Americans in many states. Our state of Michigan has an opportunity to change it in one direction or another.