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Fast Facts
State Constitutional Protection
Can a state constitution provide broader protection for the right to choose than the federal Constitution does? |
Yes. Women's freedom and privacy are protected by the U.S. Constitution, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court in the historic Roe v. Wade decision. However, an increasingly hostile Supreme Court has allowed more and more restrictions on those rights, allowing politicians and other outsiders to infringe on private medical decisions in a variety of ways. Fortunately, a number of state courts have found that their state constitutions provide stronger protections for the right to privacy and the right to choose than does the U.S. Constitution. If Roe were overturned, states that protect women's rights to choice and privacy in their constitutions may be able to ensure that women have continued access to safe, legal options. Nonetheless, if there were no federal constitutional protection for choice, Congress would be free to ban abortion nationwide, which would trump state constitutional protections. |
CURRENT STATE LAWS16 states' constitutions provide greater protection of a woman's right to choose than does the federal Constitution: AK, AZ, CA, CT, FL, IL, IN, MA, MN, MT, NJ, NM, OR, TN, VT, WV. |
2007 STATE LEGISLATIONNo states considered legislation to establish or expand state constitutional protection.
8 states considered 14 measures intended to reduce or eliminate, or completely prohibit, state constitutional protection of a woman's right to choose: AL, KY, MN, MS, MT, NJ, TN, WV. |
| For a map of all states with State Constitutional Protection - click here. | |