While some states restrict abortion, others are taking steps to strengthen access

The abortion debate in America has recently been dominated by news that conservative lawmakers from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, and Missouri had approved radical new restrictions to the company. 39, access to abortion. In the meantime, several Democratic-majority states have passed bills strengthening the right to abortion.

While advocates of the right to abortion have had few victories, they say that they are making progress.

On Tuesday, Vermont House approved Bill H.57, which defines abortion as a "fundamental right" and also protects the right to contraception, sterilization and family planning. He is now at the office of Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, who has stated that he has not yet made up his mind, according to the Associated Press.

"Thank God for Vermont," Senator Virginia Lyons told ABC News on Friday. "We are a bulwark of mental health and understanding of reproductive rights and processes."

Lyon also supports proposal 5, which would amend the state's constitution to declare abortion as a right. This proposal was passed in the House of State and Senate, but must be re-approved by a majority of both houses in the next legislative session before it can be presented to voters in a referendum. His supporters hope to see him on the ballot in 2022.

It's not just Vermont.

In Illinois, the Reproductive Health Act would make reproductive health, including abortion, a fundamental right. The bill has been stalled since its introduction in February, and this week its representative from the sponsoring state, Kelly Cassidy, has organized a protest to demand action.

"The more you hear stories like Alabama or Ohio, the more frustrating it is because the threat is real," she told ABC News, adding that looking at the anti-abortion bills in another country was " a nightmare".

The bill has sat on a subcommittee and needs to be referred to a substantive committee for action on this, the State Journal-Register reported. The Executive Committee has indicated that it will take it as early as next week.

"I think there is a lack of understanding of the urgency," said Cassidy, as the state has a Democratic majority. But "this threat" to reproductive rights "is real," she said.

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Cassidy supports the bill not only to preserve access to abortion for Illinois citizens, but also for nationals of neighboring states, where restrictions are more severe, who surrender in Illinois to undergo an abortion. In 2017, more than 5,500 women came to have an abortion in Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reported.

However, other states have attempted to enact laws protecting the right to abortion.

A Senate bill from Rhode Island was rejected in committee this week. Sen. Democrat Stephen Archambault said the bill went too far and that it was not strict enough with respect to abortion at an advanced stage of pregnancy.

"I was not comfortable with that," he told ABC News, acknowledging that he was "pro-choice," but that had "serious concerns in the case where there would be post-viability and late abortion ".

Archambault did draft an amendment codifying Roe v. Wade in the state, but with stricter language regarding abortion in the final stages of pregnancy. This amendment and a bill "are still topical," he said.

Michael Busch, chair of the Maryland House of Representatives, withdrew in February a move that would incorporate the right to abortion into the state's constitution, claiming that he recognized that she would not be passed in both houses of the state and that he was planning to reintroduce it in 2020, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Meanwhile, efforts to expand access to abortion in Virginia have led to a confrontation between Governor Ralph Northam and President Donald Trump. Since then, Trump has used an increasingly violent and misleading language about "late abortions".

The discussions around "late abortion" are partly motivated by the long-awaited victory of abortion rights advocates in New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Reproductive Health Act in January. This act codifies abortion as a public law and legalized in New York after 24 weeks of pregnancy if the health or life of the patient is in danger or if the fetus is not viable.

The state senator, Liz Krueger, a sponsor of the bill, told ABC News that it was "extremely disturbing" to see recent anti-abortion laws passed and signed in the House of Commons. other States.

"I am pretty mortified from state to state, it is older men who are trying to dictate the kind of care that doctors can provide in their state and the rights to health care that women of childbearing age can have access, "she said. "Who are these men who think they have the right to determine what each woman chooses for herself in coordination with her doctor?" How dare you tell a doctor that we are going to jail you for providing health care services. basic health? "

She added that in addition to the apparent lack of understanding of reproductive health, some anti-abortion legislators have shown that they are also acting against the wishes of the people. While an equal percentage of Americans identifying as "pro-choice" and "pro-life" in a 2018 Gallup poll, a total of 79% of Americans said they thought that abortion should be legal in certain circumstances.

"I hope it turns against [the anti-abortion lawmakers], "Said Krueger," and I hope more and more states are realizing that following the path of New York is in the best interest of their residents. "