Abortion in the United States: Judicial History, Legislation and FAQs

This book is a compilation of CRS reports on abortion in the United States. The first chapter discusses the way legislation seeking to limit/ban abortions in midpregnancy has brought to attention the number of women choosing to have such procedures. The second report focuses on April 2018 in Mississippi, when the enforcement of a law prohibiting abortion on fetuses with a gestational age of more than 15 weeks was halted by a federal court. This prohibition is of particular interest to congress because of the early gestational age. The third chapter discusses those policies which restrict the United States funding of abortion and family planning activities abroad, which has become a significant issue in foreign assistance. Later, the court’s rulings since Roe and Doe are examined in the fourth chapter in the context of the governmental actions designed to nullify or limit their effect(s). In the fifth report, the authors discuss recently renewed questions concerning to what extent the government may impose abortion restrictions on aliens. The concluding chapter aims to address whether the constitutional right to abortion applies to an unaccompanied alien minor who is apprehended at the border.