Reproductive Rights
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, ruling that the U.S. Constitution does not protect a fundamental right to abortion. Following this decision, many state trigger laws banning or restricting abortion went into effect, and several states have passed new abortion bans or restrictions.
Litigants are challenging many of these measures in state courts, pointing to rights to privacy, liberty, gender equality, equal protection, due process, and religious freedom in their state constitutions and other state laws. There are also active state constitutional amendment campaigns in several states. This litigation extends beyond abortion to fertility treatments, contraception, and other issues.
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2025’s Most Significant State Constitutional Cases
Leading legal thinkers weighed in on the state constitutional rulings our readers should know about from this past year.
Despite Constitutional Amendment, Abortion Still Out of Reach in Missouri
The Missouri Supreme Court reinstated restrictions on abortion this week, effectively making the procedure impossible to access in the state.
Missouri Appeals Court Upholds Order Blocking Abortion Restrictions
The ruling is the latest in a long-running saga over abortion access following voters’ 2024 approval of a state constitutional reproductive-rights amendment.
How Originalism Revived an Abortion Ban a Majority of the North Dakota Supreme Court Held Unconstitutional
Although three of the five justices on the court concluded the ban violated state due process rights, a state rule requiring a supermajority to strike down a law means the dissenting opinion controls.
"Liberty" is a Big Word, and That’s OK
A recent abortion rights decision in North Dakota demonstrates that the distinction between “fundamental” and “non-fundamental” rights doesn’t always make sense in state constitutional jurisprudence.
Differences in Kansas and Missouri Show Importance of Initiative Process
Unlike Kansans, Missouri voters can use ballot initiatives to enact laws and amendments their lawmakers refuse to pass.
The West Virginia Constitution: Mountaineers Are Always Free
An early West Virginia constitution emancipated enslaved people in 1863, more than a year before the U.S. Constitution.
IVF Users Face Uncertain Legal Landscape
State courts are grappling with questions like ownership over and rights for embryos.