Abortion opponents eye renewed attacks on reproductive rights in Trump’s second term

In the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that reversed Roe v. Wade, reproductive justice advocates have made significant wins at the state level. Voters in four states that elected Donald Trump also passed ballot measures to enshrine the right to abortion in their state constitutions.

Looking forward to a second Trump presidency beginning in January, a Republican-led Congress, and a conservative majority in the Supreme Court, anti-abortion activists are pushing hard for restrictions on abortion in 2025.

The influential anti-abortion group Students for Life of America recently released its “Make America Pro-Life Again Roadmap,” a package of federal and state legislation the group is calling on Congress to adopt in 2025.

The roadmap includes support for a slate of bills that would ban medication abortions, institute a national fetal personhood law, and provide other restrictions on abortion. All of the bills would have to be reintroduced after the 119th Congress convenes in January.

Here’s a list of the federal legislation:

• H.R. 5806, introduced by Tennessee Rep. Andrew Ogles, calls for  imprisonment or fine for “whoever prescribes, dispenses, distributes, or sells, any drug, medication, or chemical for the purpose of procuring or performing an abortion on any woman.”

• H.R. 421, introduced in 2023 by Virginia Rep. Bob Good, bans medical abortions from being prescribed over telehealth by requiring a doctor to physically examine a patient before prescribing the medication, such as mifepristone and misoprostol, and to be present during the abortion.
• H.R. 435, introduced in 2023 by Texas Republican Rep. Roy Chip, would prohibit federal funds to go to colleges or universities that provide abortion medication to students or employees of the institutions. 
• S. 959, introduced in 2023 by North Carolina Republican Rep. Ted Budd, aims to “amend the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2025 to require abortion providers notify the National Human Trafficking Hotline of victims of trafficking.” 

According to research from the Guttmacher Institute, medication abortions account for about 63% of all abortions in the U.S. Telehealth access to abortions makes up about 20% of abortions since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

The roadmap demands that the Department of Justice and state attorneys general enforce the Comstock Act, an anti-vice law dating back to 1873. If Trump’s administration were to enforce this law, a federal abortion ban would not need to be in place.

The Comstock Act criminalizes the mailing of “Every obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance; and— Every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use.” A violation of the law would mean a fine, and/or imprisonment for up to five years.

On Nov. 21, Trump nominated Pam Bondi to be his U.S. attorney general. Bondi was Florida’s first woman to serve as attorney general. If Bondi is confirmed to lead the U.S. Department of Justice, she would have the power to enforce the Comstock Act.

Kristan Hawkins, president of the  Students for Life of America organization, told The Guardian that Trump’s incoming administration will likely be open to hearing the group’s demands.

“There’s going to be a willingness to listen, there’s going to be a willingness to have a conversation,” Hawkins said.

The group is planning to present the roadmap to anti-abortion groups such as the Heritage Foundation and Family Research Council, Politico reported, beginning in January.

The organization is hoping to chip away at recent gains in abortion rights in states such as  Arizona, a swing state that recently passed an abortion measure to enshrine access in its state constitution, and in Wyoming, where abortion is legal up to 24 to 26 weeks of pregnancy.  

Wyoming Republican state Sen. Tim Salazar has already given his support to the organization and they have also partnered with Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate in states such as Nebraska, Oklahoma, Montana, Texas, and Florida.

According to Pew Research, 63% of Americans support legal abortion in all or most cases.

Jennifer Driver, senior director of reproductive rights with the national organization State Innovation Exchange, told NPR that she’s concerned about what Trump could do to abortion laws, including signing a national abortion ban.

“There are very little checks and balances … So the unknown in this moment seems really concerning,” Driver told NPR.

Although Trump has bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade, he posted on social media that he would veto a federal abortion ban. In an interview with NBC News in September, J.D. Vance also claimed Trump would veto a national abortion ban. However, Trump has a history of going back on his promises.

The roadmap isn’t solely limited to federal legislation. Hawkins said the group would also go after state abortion ballot measures that passed on Nov. 5, enshrining abortion rights in seven state constitutions.

“Even if your state has said abortion is now constitutionally protected, that doesn’t mean every action of abortion, every type of abortion,” Hawkins said, according to The Hill.

Abortion rights advocates say they’re prepared for a fight.

“People are dying because of Trump abortion bans — it is no surprise to us that [Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America] and other anti-abortion groups’ policy platform is as simple as this: more cruelty,” Angela Vasquez-Giroux, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement.

Politico reported that on Nov. 11, the nonpartisan coalition Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a group of 23 governors, vowed in a statement to use “every tool at their disposal to ensure the availability of services and protect patients and providers,” against attacks on access to abortion.