In the past two years, nine states have passed laws radically restricting abortions—even in the case of rape and incest. Using data from the Guttmacher institute, the staff of The Rachel Maddow Show assembled the above map for Monday’s episode. It shows that Idaho, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Indiana and Alabama have new abortion restrictions in effect. Arizona, Louisiana and Georgia have laws that have been enacted and have yet to go into effect.
On Monday, a legal challenge against Arizona’s law—which bans abortions occurring after the first 20 weeks—failed. On Tuesday, the House will vote on whether to institute a similar law in Washington, DC.
Rachel Maddow noted that Mitt Romney has been evasive on the subject of abortion, changing his position depending on the audience. “Do you agree with these new laws being advanced by your party, or do you disagree with them?” she asked, addressing the camera. “Easy question.”
Ned Resnikoff is an urban policy analyst, researcher, writer, and editor. His byline has appeared in a variety of publications, including the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Dissent, and The Nation. He writes the newsletter Public Comment, which can be found at publiccomment.blog. Recommended
