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22 states are poised to ban or restrict abortion. Others moved to protect access

Access to legal abortion could soon end for more than 100 million Americans, including those living in nearly every Southern state and large swaths of the Midwest.

Twenty-two states are poised to immediately ban or acutely curtail access to abortions with the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group in favor of abortion rights. The landmark 1973 decision had guaranteed women's right to seek an abortion for nearly 50 years.

So-called "trigger laws" are taking effect and will automatically ban or curtail abortion in 13 states. Most were enacted during the Trump administration, after conservatives Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh were confirmed to the Supreme Court.

In another nine states, pre-Roe abortion bans can once again become enforceable, or more recent bans that had been blocked by courts can now take effect.

In effect, abortions could soon be illegal or next to impossible to access in these 21 states, with a combined population of more than 135 million people — a major change from today's environment, where all 50 states have at least one operating abortion clinic.

In response, many Democratic-led states have enacted laws to shore up abortion rights at the state level.

Massachusetts is one of 16 states and Washington, D.C., have laws protecting access to abortion, according to Guttmacher. Four states and D.C. "have codified the right to abortion throughout pregnancy without state interference," the group notes, while 12 others "explicitly permit abortion prior to viability or when necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person."

California, Oregon and Washington state also recently moved to expand financial support for abortion access.

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