What would the end of Roe mean for access to abortion pill?

A draft Supreme Court ruling that would overturn Roe v. Wade means that abortion pills may become a key part of the next legal frontier to access to abortion.

If finalized, the ruling would overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade court opinion that established a national right to an abortion, as well as a later ruling, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, that affirmed the right. If that happens, then each state could set laws about whether and when to allow abortion. Some states already have laws that would reinstate abortion restrictions if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

We wondered about what such a future ruling could mean for medication abortion, commonly referred to as the abortion pill. About half the states would be expected to enact laws that would ban abortion — and that would apply to both surgery and the abortion pill.

"If Roe v. Wade is overturned, states will be able to ban abortion, full stop," said Kelly Krause, a spokesperson for the Center for Reproductive Rights, a global advocacy and legal organization. "The method of abortion doesn’t matter."