SACRAMENTO, Calif. — There's been a lot of talk about late-term abortion lately. In New York, the state just passed a bill that expands abortion rights, and in Virginia, there's a proposed bill that would lessen restrictions on late-term abortions.
The controversial policies have led to a lot of different claims made online, which is probably why one ABC10 viewer texted us this: "Is it correct that now it's legal to have abortions up to 9 months in the whole USA? Or is it just rumors?"
The topic is complicated -- so let's verify.
Sources: To get to the bottom of this we looked at both Roe v Wade and data from the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation.
What Roe v Wade says: Roe v. Wade is the landmark supreme court case from the 70's that ruled women have the right to get an abortion as part of their implied constitutional right to privacy. Still, the court left many specifics up to the states, saying after the first trimester states can ban abortions, except where abortion is necessary to preserve the mother's life or health.
Based on that ruling, yes, on paper it's been unconstitutional for decades to ban late-term abortions entirely. State's have to take into account the mother's health. But that doesn't really show the full picture.
What the laws say: The Henry Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit based in San Francisco that focuses on health care issues across the country. Their latest data shows 43 states prohibit some abortions after a certain point in pregnancy. California, for instance, bans abortions after a fetus is considered viable unless, again, the pregnancy threatens the mother's life and health. Some states, like Alabama, ban late-term abortions unless the mother's life and physical health are at risk and, on top of that, require a second physician approval before that abortion can be performed.
While state laws can consistently evolve, the Supreme Court has not recently taken up any kind of case related to abortion term limits, thus nothing has changed nationwide about abortion rights and term limits.
Verify: Knowing all that, and restrictions for the mother's health aside, we can say that the claim -- "Is it correct that now it's legal to have abortions up to 9 months in the whole USA?" -- is not true and cannot be verified. There's still a lot of restrictions for late-term abortions in most states.
Continue the conversation with Liz on Facebook.
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In California, more than 1,000 new rules went into effect this year. But does one of them include a $999 fine and 3-year suspended license for driving with your cell phone? When we saw a Facebook post being shared hundreds of times that made this claim, it was time to hit the brakes -- and verify.