Mary Ziegler

A showdown over parental rights, abortion access, fertility care, and more could follow a recent state court decision.

A lower court ruled Wyoming’s abortion ban violated a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to make one’s own health care decisions. 

The fetal personhood movement already succeeded in eliminating what many viewed as a fundamental right. Its continued effects could be even further-reaching.

The new justice, who previously represented Planned Parenthood, joins the bench as the court is set to decide two major abortion cases.

Georgia’s Supreme Court sent a challenge to the state’s abortion ban back to the trial court to consider if the plaintiffs, including medical providers, had standing to bring the suit. 

Activists hope to set up a clash between the Comstock Act and state laws protecting abortion. 

Doctors have delayed life-saving care out of confusion over exceptions to strict abortion bans. State courts are being asked to clarify the laws.

The Texas attorney general alleges a New York physician broke Texas law when she mailed abortion-inducing medication to a woman in Texas. 

The dispute over whether the 1849 law bans nearly all abortions in the state is a sign of a “world gone mad,” one justice said.

Even where voters pass abortion rights amendments, lawmakers and judges can undermine rights.

Cases in multiple states demonstrate the significant roles state judges play in the direct democracy process. 

State supreme courts addressed abortion rights head on, even as the U.S. Supreme Court punted on similar questions.

Decisions in Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Pennsylvania highlight stark contrasts in how courts approach reproductive rights.

Over a dozen academics, practitioners, and thought leaders weigh in on the most notable state constitutional cases of the year.

Courts are considering new foundations for abortion rights, while incremental challenges may slowly chip away at Dobbs.