Where do the measures they stand? And what are the chances that the issue will make its way to the Supreme Court?

Several US states have taken action in recent months to curb abortion rights as conservatives and anti-abortion rights groups look to attempt to force the Supreme Court to reexamine the issue now that the country’s top court has shifted to the right.

Earlier this month, Alabama’s governor signed into law the most restrictive abortion legislation in the United States. The legislation bans abortion in nearly all circumstances, including rape and incest. The only exception to the ban are cases in which a woman’s health is at serious risk.

Other restrictive bans have been passed in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Ohio, among other states. Rights groups have challenged or have vowed to challenge most of the laws in the courts.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health research and policy organisation, 27 abortion bans have been enacted across 12 states so far in 2019.

Additionally, the organisation reported that between January 1 and May 31, 479 abortion restrictions were enacted in 33 states, accounting for more than a third of the 1,271 abortion restrictions enacted since the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that legalised abortion.

“2019 has become the year when anti-abortion politicians make clear that their ultimate agenda is banning abortion outright, at any stage in pregnancy and for any reason,” Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute wrote earlier this year.

Nash said the restrictions and bans are part of a “long-term strategy” to advance the cases to the Supreme Court.

Which states have recently passed abortion bans?

Alabama

Alabama’s law would make performing an abortion at any stage of pregnancy a felony punishable by up to 99 years or life in prison for an abortion provider. The only exception is when a woman’s health is at serious risk.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit earlier this month aimed at blocking the law before it takes effect in November.

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Arkansas

In March, Arkansas’s Republican governor signed into law a measure banning most abortions 18 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy. The ban includes exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies. The state had already banned abortions 20 weeks into pregnancy. The ACLU has vowed to challenge the law in the courts.

The state has also passed a “trigger” law, which would automatically trigger an abortion ban if Roe v Wade is overturned.

Georgia

Earlier this month, Georgia’s governor Brian Kemp signed a “heartbeat” bill, a law that bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks after conception – before many women know they are pregnant.

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The measure makes exceptions in the case of rape and incest – if the woman files a police report first – and to save the life of the mother. It also would allow for abortions when a fetus is determined not to be viable because of serious medical issues.

The ACLU plans to challenge the measure in court.

Kentucky

After the ACLU filed a lawsuit, a judge in Kentucky blocked enforcement of the state’s heartbeat law, which seeks to ban abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat.

A 2018 abortion law was struck down by a federal judge earlier this month. It would have halted a common second-trimester procedure to end pregnancies. The state’s governor has vowed to appeal.

Kentucky has also recently passed a trigger bill.

Louisiana

Louisiana’s governor has said he will sign a bill passed this month that bans abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards would become the first Democrat this year to sign a ban on abortion when a heartbeat is detected, lending bipartisanship to the measure. The bill’s sponsor, state Senator John Milkovich, is also a Democrat.

Mississippi

If a new Mississippi law survives a court challenge, it will be nearly impossible for most pregnant women to get an abortion there.

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Like Kentucky’s legislation, the Mississippi law seeks to ban most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. It is set to take effect on July 1, but the state’s only abortion clinic and the Center for Reproductive Rights have asked a federal judge to block it.

Mississippi already mandates a 24-hour wait between an in-person consultation, meaning women must make at least two trips to her clinic, often travelling long distances.

Missouri

Missouri Governor Mike Parson recently signed a bill that bans abortions on or beyond the eighth week of pregnancy without exceptions for cases of rape or incest.

Under the law, which comes into force on August 28, doctors who violate the eight-week cutoff could face five to 15 years in prison. Women who terminate their pregnancies cannot be prosecuted. A legal challenge is expected, although it is unclear when that might occur.

The measure includes exceptions for medical emergencies, such as when there is a risk of death or permanent physical injuries to “a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.”

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The state also moved to close the state’s only abortion clinic. Planned Parenthood, which runs the St Louis clinic, sued Missouri after state health officials said the licence for the clinic was in jeopardy because they were unable to interview seven of its physicians over “potential deficient practices”, court documents showed.

Planned Parenthood said Missouri was “weaponising” the licensing process.

Just hours before the clinic’s licence was set to expire, a judge issued a temporary order ensuring the facility could continue providing abortions.

The clinic’s licence “shall not expire and shall remain in effect” until a ruling is issued on Planned Parenthood’s request for a permanent injunction, the ruling read. A hearing is set for June 4.

North Dakota

Last month, North Dakota’s governor signed legislation that makes it a crime for a doctor performing a second-trimester abortion to use instruments such as clamps, scissors and forceps to remove the fetus from the womb.

Except in cases of an emergency, doctors performing the procedure would be charged with a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The measure says the woman having the abortion would not face charges.

The bill would come into effect if a federal appeals court or the US Supreme Court allows its enforcement.

This year, the governor has also signed a measure that requires abortion providers to tell women undergoing drug-induced abortions that it’s possible they could still have a live birth if they change their mind. The “reversal” method is controversial and has not been medically accepted. Other states have also passed similar measures.

Ohio

After years of debate, Ohio’s governor also signed a heartbeat bill this year, banning abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected.

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The ACLU has vowed to challenge the measure in the courts.

Other ‘trigger’ laws

In addition to Kentucky and Arkansas, Tennessee also passed a trigger law this year. Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota already had similar trigger laws on the books.

What’s expected in other states?

South Carolina is halfway towards passing a fetal heartbeat law.

Other states, including Maryland, Minnesota, Texas and West Virginia are also considering abortion restrictions.

Why now? Will the challenges make it to the Supreme Court?

Politicians behind the bans across the country have made it clear their goal is to prompt court challenges in hopes of ultimately overturning the 1973 Roe v Wade decision legalising abortion.

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But activists and legal experts on both sides of the debate agree that getting a Supreme Court decision on such a defining case is unlikely any time soon.

The bans may face difficulties just reaching the high court, given that Roe established a clear right to an abortion during the first three months of pregnancy.

“The lower courts are going to find these laws unconstitutional because the Supreme Court requires that outcome,” Hillary Schneller, a lawyer with the Center for Reproductive Rights, told the Associated Press.

However, some federal appeals courts around the country, such as the 5th Circuit, which covers Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, are viewed as having grown more conservative with the addition of Trump appointees.

If even one circuit breaks with Roe v Wade and upholds a heartbeat ban, that could be enough for the Supreme Court to take up the issue, said Justin Dyer, a political science professor at the University of Missouri.

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Alternatively, the high court could agree to hear any of several less sweeping anti-abortion rights measures. Some would tighten restrictions on clinics; others seek to ban certain categories of abortions.

What will happen at the Supreme Court is far from clear. Legal experts are unsure what effect the Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh might have, or where Chief Justice John Roberts stands in regard to Roe v Wade.

Are there more abortions now?

The renewed challenges come as the number of abortions performed in the US has steadily declined since reaching a peak of 1.6 million in 1990.

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The latest 50-state tally was 926,000 in 2014, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights.