The Freedom From Religion Foundation condemns the relentless passage of anti-abortion laws at the state level. As we await the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which is likely to overturn the foundation of Roe v. Wade, anti-abortion legislation seems to be enacted almost daily by states with conservative leadership.
· Florida lawmakers have voted to pass a 15-week abortion ban that provides no exceptions for victims of rape, incest, or human trafficking. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a religious extremist, is expected to sign this bill into law soon.
· Kentucky’s Legislature likewise just passed a bill to restrict abortion after 15 weeks of gestation. It also calls on abortion clinics to issue “death certificates” for each abortion and requires fetal remains to be interred or cremated. Gov. Andy Beshear is poised to enact it before too long.
· Arizona’s Legislature also just passed a bill that would ban abortions at 15 weeks gestation with no exceptions for rape or incest. Gov. Doug Ducey is likely to sign this measure into law.
· Idaho’s Gov. Brad Little recently signed a six-week abortion ban with a $20,000 abortion bounty-hunting provision. The law will go into effect next month.
And this is not the end. Indiana South Dakota, and Wyoming have also passed abortion restrictions this year. While 2021 set a record for anti-abortion laws — with 108 such restrictions passing in 19 states — 2022 is shaping up to be worse. In just the past three months, there have already been 525 restrictions introduced in 41 states.
“The anti-abortion movement is driven almost exclusively by a religious ideology based on the idea that ensoulment takes place at conception,” comments FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “In a secular nation, laws governing reproductive health care should focus on science — not faith. Women are not breeding machines and the state has no business dictating when or whether they decide to become parents.”
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a national nonprofit organization with more than 36,000 members and several chapters all across the country. FFRF’s purposes are to protect the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.