Stories

“America After Roe” examines the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, eliminating a federal right to abortion and returning regulation of the procedure to the states. News21 journalists traveled to over two dozen cities in 14 states, as well as to Washington, D.C., and Monterrey, Mexico, to report on the aftermath of the ruling one year later and its effect on health care, culture, policy and people.

Abortion-rights advocates rally in the Nebraska Capitol rotunda on April 12, 2023, in opposition to the Nebraska Heartbeat Act, which would have banned abortion around six weeks. The bill did not pass, but a 12-week ban is now law. (Photo by Joseph Kual Zakaria/News21)

‘Confusing’ and ‘chilling’: First legislative sessions after Roe produce patchwork of laws on abortion

The first full state legislative sessions after the fall of Roe v. Wade produced hundreds of bills that are all over the map on abortion, including proposals to do what was once considered unthinkable: criminalize pregnant people themselves.

‘How sick is sick enough?’ Abortion bans leave providers and patients questioning when care is OK

‘This is a long game’: A year after Roe, abortion access fight moves to blue states like New Mexico

‘Crisis pregnancy centers’ face new regulations – but also gain support – after Roe

Mexican abortion-pill networks reach across U.S. border to help immigrants without access

Mexico decriminalized abortion just before the United States went the opposite way and ended federal abortion rights. Now activists are helping people in the U.S. get abortion pills to those in need via cross-border underground networks.
Ellis Hospital – the only inpatient hospital in all of Schenectady County – would have to abide by ethical and religious directives that prohibit abortions and other care should a merger with St. Peter’s Health Partners become final. (Photo by Morgan Casey/News21)

Catholic hospital mergers threaten access to reproductive care – even in abortion ‘safe havens’
Esther Patterson is with BirthNet, an organization that works to eliminate health inequities for pregnant people. At a rally on June 20, 2023, Patterson called the proposed closure of Burdett Birth Center “a slap in the face to all of our Black and brown birthing families and all of the families that live in rural communities.” (Photo by Morgan Casey/News21)

Birth center closure could stress health care in area dominated by Catholic hospitals
Shaquira Brooks sits on her bed at Mother’s Hope on June 28, 2023, in Birmingham, Alabama, surrounded by notebooks full of homework and exercises. This is her second stay at the facility, where people who are pregnant, who have children or who have recently given birth are treated for substance use. (Photo by Shelby Rae Wills/News21)

‘We are fighting for our lives’: Experts worry criminalization of pregnancy will rise post-Roe
The National Association of Christian Lawmakers was founded in 2019 and now has members and supporters in all 50 states. The NACL and similar groups are capitalizing on the momentum of the reversal of Roe v. Wade to pursue more biblically informed policy. (Photo courtesy of National Association of Christian Lawmakers)

‘Spiritual civil war’: How a group of Christian lawmakers is spearheading a bigger fight post-Roe

A group of Christian lawmakers has been busy reshaping America’s relationship with abortion, LGBTQ issues and religion. But their ultimate goal – bridging the separation between church and state – is far more ambitious.
Saint Gianna & Pietro Molla Maternity Home, seen here on July 6, 2023, is an institution within the North Dakota anti-abortion movement. Located in Warsaw, the facility was originally a convent for nuns and a boarding school. It now serves young pregnant women. (Photo by Trilce Estrada Olvera/News21)

In abortion-restricted North Dakota, lawmakers put resources toward mothers and children
Anti-abortion advocate Mark Lee Dickson speaks at a Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn meeting at Vineyard Church of Prescott Valley in Arizona on June 11, 2023. (Photo by Mingson Lau/News21)

‘Abortion-free America’: Initiative seeks more ‘sanctuary cities for the unborn’ across U.S.
People walk by the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus on June 27, 2023. Other states are watching Ohio's dueling efforts to make it harder to pass amendments to the state constitution and to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution. (Photo by Mingson Lau/News21)

Ohio special election, proposed constitutional amendment illustrate broader battles on abortion
Sandy Harris, left, and Jonnette Paddy, right, with Indigenous Women Rising talk about abortion care and reproductive health with attendees at the “Women Are Sacred” conference on June 27, 2023 in Albuquerque, N.M. (Photo by Noel Lyn Smith/News21)

Indigenous people unite to navigate abortion access after reversal of Roe

Abortion was never readily available to Indigenous women, and the reversal of Roe v. Wade made it worse. States with some of the largest Indigenous populations also have some of the strictest restrictions on abortion.

Spotlight on Maternal Mortality

(Photo by Shelby Rae Wills/News21)
(Photo by Shelby Rae Wills/News21)
(Photo by Shelby Rae Wills/News21)
(Photo by Shelby Rae Wills/News21)
(Photo by Shelby Rae Wills/News21)

Activists unite to fight maternal mortality post-Roe

Black women are far more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than white women across the U.S. In the South, activists and providers are working to overcome these disparities, which they worry will worsen amid abortion bans. Photo essay by Shelby Rae Wills. Video story by Jada Respress and Peyton Brooks.

Read the story