Repro Rights Reports
How governors have used executive orders to protect abortion rights
Posted on August 8, 2023
The following is the appendix from an excellent Guttmacher Institute Policy Analysis, July 2023
May 25, 2022 • MICHIGAN (Executive Directive 2022-5)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Other directives or protections:
- State agencies must evaluate and return reports within 30 days on how they can help reproductive rights
- State employees must communicate with the public on the cost and availability of reproductive health care
June 24, 2022 • MASSACHUSETTS (Executive Order 600)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Provider protection from licensing board discipline
Protection from extradition
June 25, 2022 • MINNESOTA (Emergency Executive Order 22-16)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Protection from extradition
Other directives or protections:
- State agencies must coordinate to protect people and entities who obtain, provide or help to obtain or provide reproductive health care that is legal in Minnesota
- State agencies must evaluate and return reports by August 1, 2022, on the safety, effectiveness and importance of reproductive health care in Minnesota
June 27, 2022 • NEW MEXICO (Executive Order 2022-107)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Provider protection from licensing board discipline
Protection from extradition
June 28, 2022 • NEVADA (Executive Order 2022-08)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Provider protection from licensing board discipline
Protection from extradition
June 30, 2022 • SOUTH DAKOTA (Executive Order 2022-07)
- Rescinded Executive Order 2021-12, which called for emergency rulemaking around medication abortion and telemedicine
June 30, 2022 • WASHINGTON (Executive Order 22-12)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Other directives or protections:
- State Patrol must coordinate with the Attorney General and General Consul to develop a process for screening out-of-state investigation cooperation requests relating to reproductive health care and report such requests to the governor
- State and local law enforcement reminded that it is illegal for them to penalize, prosecute or otherwise take adverse action against someone who had an abortion, is believed to have had an abortion or assisted someone in obtaining an abortion
- Affirms that the state will protect and serve people who come to Washington seeking abortion care
July 5, 2022 • MAINE (Executive Order 4)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Protection from extradition
Other directives or protections:
- State agencies must coordinate to identify and remove barriers to reproductive health care
July 5, 2022 • RHODE ISLAND (Executive Order 22-28)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Provider protection from licensing board discipline
Protection from extradition
July 6, 2022 • COLORADO (Executive Order D 2022 032)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Provider protection from licensing board discipline
Protection from extradition
Other directives or protections:
- State agencies must coordinate to protect people and entities who obtain, provide or help to obtain or provide reproductive health care that is legal in Colorado
- Protections include explicit prohibition on sharing patient medical records or data
July 6, 2022 • NORTH CAROLINA (Executive Order No. 263)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Protection from extradition
Other directives or protections:
- State agencies must coordinate to protect people and entities who obtain, provide or help to obtain or provide reproductive health care that is legal in North Carolina
- State agencies may not require pregnant employees to travel to states that impose restrictions on reproductive health care unless that state’s restrictions include exceptions that are satisfactory to the employee
- Department of Public Safety must work with law enforcement and reproductive health clinics to ensure the clinic access law is properly enforced
July 8, 2022 • OKLAHOMA (Executive Order 2022-14)
- Creates a task force to support crisis pregnancy centers in Oklahoma; task force required to include faith leaders and plan to support “mothers” and make adoption easier
July 12, 2022 • PENNSYLVANIA (Executive Order 2022-01)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Provider protection from licensing board discipline
Protection from extradition
Other directives or protections:
- State employees must communicate with the public about the cost and availability of reproductive health care, and about protecting health care information stored electronically
July 13, 2022 • MICHIGAN (Executive Order 2022-4)
Protection from extradition
August 31, 2022 • NEW MEXICO (Executive Order 2022-123)
- Allocates $10 million to establish a reproductive health care clinic that will provide abortion care
- Department of Health must develop a plan to expand access to reproductive health care in underserved areas
- Department of Health must assess the feasibility of providing medication abortion in public health clinics
- Department of Health to review and evaluate policies of other states that increase abortion access
- Department of Human Services must develop policies to improve access to reproductive health care
October 11, 2022 • HAWAII (Executive Order 22-05)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Provider protection from licensing board discipline
Protection from extradition
Other directives or protections:
- Protections include explicit prohibition on sharing patient medical records or data
December 14, 2022 • MICHIGAN (Executive Directive 2022-13)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Other directives or protections:
- Requires state agencies and departments to review and assess any duties or jurisdictions that pertain to reproductive rights to ensure they reflect the protections guaranteed by the Michigan constitution
- Requires state agencies and departments to resolve any conflict between their practices or policies and constitutional protections regarding reproductive health care
- Requires state agencies and departments to identify ways to proactively increase reproductive health protections
April 10, 2023 • MASSACHUSETTS (Executive Order No. 609)
Provider protection from licensing board discipline
Other directives or protections:
- Commissioner of Public Health must issue guidance on the use, prescription, dispensation and administration of mifepristone or misoprostol
- Practitioner professional protections include provision for medication abortion
- Commissioner of Public Health must work with public universities to develop and implement plans that ensure students can access medication abortion
- Division of Insurance must issue guidance to insurers about discrimination against providers who offer reproductive health care
June 22, 2023 • ARIZONA (Executive Order No. 2023-11)
Protection from out-of-state investigations
Protection from extradition
Other directives or protections:
- Declares that the state attorney general has sole prosecutorial authority in criminal cases relating to abortion
- Creates the Advisory Council on Protecting Reproductive Freedom, which will make recommendations to expand access to sexual and reproductive health services
Abortion rights constitutional amendments coming in 2023-24
Posted on May 31, 2023
In 2022, in all six states where the abortion issue was on the ballot in 2022, the pro-abortion rights position won. Three of those were constitutional amendments to protect abortion rights: In California: The legislature placed...
Abortion rights victories in late 2022
Posted on November 29, 2022
Victories in California The Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance that prohibits any Crisis Pregnancy Center from misrepresenting the health services it offers, including lies about abortion services, and provides individuals legal recourse...
The many unknowns now that Roe is overturned
Posted on June 29, 2022
The Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade created numerous grave legal issues. Here are some of them: Can individuals be prosecuted for having an abortion? It depends. Whether or not to prosecute will...
Proactive abortion rights victories in 2022
Posted on May 17, 2022
Preparing for the upcoming disaster of SCOTUS overruling Roe v. Wade, many blue states have taken action to strengthen abortion rights. All of the following were passed in 2022: Statutory and constitutional protections for...
Where abortion will be illegal if Roe is overturned
Posted on April 1, 2022
From Stateline using Guttmacher reports:
New Jersey passes bill to guarantee the right to abortion
Posted on January 11, 2022
The bill, NJ SB 49 (2022), will soon be signed into law. The key language is this: Every individual present in the State, including, but not limited to, an individual who is under State...
Abortion Rights Enacted in 2021
Posted on October 4, 2021
There were not many proactive abortion rights bills enacted in the 2021 legislative sessions, but a few of them are terrific models for other states. Colorado SB 142 by Sen. Kerry Donovan The state...
How to talk about abortion rights
Posted on September 8, 2021
According to the latest polling (Sept. 4-7 by YouGov – see page 101), by a margin of 50 to 28 percent, Americans want the Supreme Court to uphold Roe v. Wade. Gallup, which asks the question a bit...
Abortion Rights Bills as of July 15
Posted on July 17, 2020
STATE-BY-STATE ** = new or updated since the last Repro Rights Report Summary: There are now 81 proactive abortion rights bills introduced in the 2020 sessions as well as 55 others which carried over...