The 13 states with trigger laws outlawing abortion with Roe v. Wade overturned

In overturning Roe v. Wade on Friday morning, the Supreme Court said it was letting states make their own decisions about abortion.

Thirteen of them did that well before Friday, passing trigger laws that automatically snapped into place as soon as the court reversed the landmark 1973 case. Each state, listed here from most to least populous, took a different approach.

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Texas - Effective in 30 days, performing an abortion will be illegal in Texas. Texas law has the strictest punishment of any state, making abortion a first- or second-degree felony that can be punished by anywhere between two years to life in prison. There are no exceptions for rape or incest; there is an exception for medical emergencies. Texas’ trigger law was signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in June 2021.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is seen in February 2022. (Eric Gay/)

Tennessee - Effective in 30 days, performing an abortion will be illegal in Tennessee and punishable by 3-15 years in prison. There are no exceptions for rape or incest; there is an exception to save a woman’s life. Tennessee’s trigger law was signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee in April 2019.

Missouri - Effective immediately, performing an abortion is illegal in Missouri and punishable by between 5-15 years in prison. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. There is an exception in the case of a medical emergency. However, at trial, the burden of proof will be placed on the medical worker, who will be forced to prove it was an emergency. Missouri’s law, passed in February 2019 and signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson, also included an attorney general and/or governor’s proclamation provision, but Parson quickly made that proclamation Friday.

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Louisiana - Effective immediately, performing an abortion is illegal in Louisiana and punishable by between 10 and 15 years in prison. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. Louisiana passed a trigger ban in 2006, but Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards updated the law earlier this week. The 2006 law made performing an abortion punishable by up to two years in prison, but the Edwards-backed new legislation jacked up the penalties. The law allows exceptions if the fetus would not survive after birth, for ectopic pregnancies and to save a woman’s life.

Kentucky - Effective immediately, performing an abortion is illegal in Kentucky and punishable by between one and five years in prison. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. An abortion is only permitted to save a woman’s life. Then-Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, signed the law in March 2019.

Matt Bevin is pictured in 2019, back when he was still governor of Kentucky. (Timothy D. Easley/)

Oklahoma - Effective immediately, performing an abortion is illegal in Oklahoma and punishable by two to five years in prison. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. There is an exception for medical emergencies. Oklahoma’s trigger law was passed in March 2021 and signed by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt. It included an attorney general provision, and Attorney General John O’Connor certified the decision Friday morning.

Utah - Likely effective within days, performing an abortion will be illegal in Utah and punishable by between one and 15 years in prison. Utah’s law makes exceptions for rape and incest but requires a police report. The law also allows for exceptions in medical emergencies. Utah’s trigger law was passed in 2020 and signed by then-Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican. The law requires Utah’s state legislature to go through a perfunctory process following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade before abortion is formally outlawed in the state.

Arkansas - Effective immediately, performing an abortion is illegal in Arkansas and punishable by up to 10 years in prison. There are no exceptions for rape or incest; there is an exception to save a woman’s life. Arkansas passed its law in February 2019, with Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson signing off on the legislation.

Governor Asa Hutchinson, left, and Matthew Shepherd, Speaker of the House, right, watch as Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas Attorney General, signs the official certification to prohibit abortions in Arkansas during a press conference at the Attorney General's office in Little Rock, Ark., Friday, June 24, 2022. (Stephen Swofford/)

Mississippi - Effective in approximately 10 days, performing an abortion will be illegal in Mississippi and punishable by between one and 10 years in prison. Mississippi’s law maintains exceptions for rape and to save a woman’s life. There is no exception for incest. And the rape exception only applies if “a formal charge of rape has been filed with an appropriate law enforcement official.”

The Mississippi law, passed in 2007 and signed by then-Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, requires the state’s attorney general to affirm the Supreme Court decision to start the 10-day countdown. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch gave her full support to the Supreme Court’s decision Friday, but that did not count as an official certification. Her chief of staff told Mississippi Today: “We intend to give the opinion and the analysis contemplated by the law the thoughtful attention they deserve.” Given Fitch’s celebration of the decision, her official word will likely come in a few days.

Idaho - Effective in 30 days, performing an abortion will be illegal in Idaho and punishable by between two and five years in prison. There are exceptions for incest and to save a woman’s life. There is also a technical exception for rape, but it requires a woman to file a police report and show it to a doctor, something that is essentially impossible because police almost never share files in ongoing investigations. Idaho actually passed a trigger law shortly after Roe v. Wade was decided, but repealed it in the 1990s before passing a new law, signed by Republican Gov. Brad Little, in March 2020.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little celebrates winning a Republican primary earlier this year. (Kyle Green/)

South Dakota - Effective immediately, performing an abortion is illegal in South Dakota and punishable by two years in prison. There are no exceptions for rape or incest; there is an exception for medical emergencies. South Dakota’s trigger law passed in 2005 and was signed by then-Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican.

North Dakota - Effective in approximately 30 days, performing an abortion will be illegal in North Dakota and punishable by up to five years in prison. There are exceptions for rape, incest and to save a woman’s life. North Dakota’s trigger ban was passed in 2007 and signed by then-Gov. John Hoeven, a Republican. North Dakota’s law also has an attorney general provision. Attorney General Drew Wrigley said his “office is evaluating the Dobbs opinion in every detail and will give careful consideration to its impact on North Dakota’s abortion laws.”

Wyoming - Effective within days, performing an abortion will be illegal in Wyoming and punishable by up to 14 years in prison. There are exceptions for rape, incest and to save a woman’s life. Passed earlier this year and signed by Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, Wyoming’s trigger law has a complicated initiation process. Abortion will be outlawed in the state five days after Gordon finishes that process.