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Advocates for abortion rights are raising alarms about a concerning development: numerous state legislators are putting forward proposals that would permit authorities to charge individuals seeking abortions with homicide.
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, at least ten states—Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas—are set to introduce such measures in the 2025 legislative session. Many of these states have already implemented strict abortion restrictions, with some banning it almost entirely or limiting it to the first six weeks of pregnancy. Missouri and North Dakota stand out as exceptions, as both recently had near-total bans overturned.
These legislative proposals redefine embryos or fetuses as “unborn children” or “preborn children,” implying that they could be viewed as victims of homicide. This redefinition could empower law enforcement to prosecute individuals seeking abortions. Certain proposals also seek to remove existing legal protections that currently safeguard pregnant individuals from prosecution. Limited exceptions are included, typically in scenarios where the death of a preborn child occurs unintentionally during life-saving procedures aimed at protecting the mother, contingent on reasonable efforts being made to save the preborn child when feasible.
Lizzy Hinkley, a senior legislative counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, has noted a rise in these bills this year, which she describes as “very, very alarming.” Many of the states advocating for these laws, such as South Carolina, even have provisions that include the death penalty.
“This is a clear tactic from the anti-abortion playbook aimed at controlling and punishing pregnant individuals,” she comments.
To date, three of these proposals—in Indiana, North Dakota, and Oklahoma—have stalled. Mary Ziegler, a professor specializing in abortion law at the University of California, Davis, believes the likelihood of the remaining bills passing is “relatively low.” These types of proposals rarely gain support; even among conservatives and anti-abortion advocates, there is significant division regarding the punishment of those seeking abortions.
“Nevertheless, I believe these bills are more likely to gain traction now than in past years, and their persistence is noteworthy,” Ziegler adds. She observes that the introduction of such bills has surged following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which eliminated the constitutional right to abortion.
Historically, anti-abortion legislation has primarily targeted medical providers offering abortion services. For instance, on March 17, the Texas attorney general announced the arrest of a midwife for allegedly conducting illegal abortions—the first such charges in Texas since the Dobbs ruling. Additionally, a doctor from New York faces a civil lawsuit in Texas and criminal charges in Louisiana for allegedly prescribing abortion pills through telemedicine to patients in those states.
Learn More: What Are Abortion Shield Laws?
The recent legislative proposals also include fetal personhood language—a legal concept central to the reproductive rights debate that seeks to grant legal rights to embryos and fetuses. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order stating that the U.S. government recognizes only “two sexes, male and female.” Critics from the abortion rights community cautioned that the order implies fetal personhood by asserting that sex is assigned “at conception.”
Hinkley emphasizes that research indicates a rise in pregnancy-related criminalization since the Dobbs ruling. A report from Pregnancy Justice, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the rights of pregnant individuals, revealed that over 210 pregnant people faced criminal charges related to their pregnancies in the year following the Dobbs decision, marking the highest recorded in any single year. Hinkley asserts that this report “foreshadowed what we are witnessing now.”
“Regardless of whether these bills pass this year, they are likely to resurface next year,” Hinkley predicts. “Not too long ago, the notion of a total abortion ban without exceptions for rape and incest felt absurd. Yet, this is the reality faced by pregnant individuals across the nation today. Whether it’s this year, next year, or in years to come, this serves as a troubling indication of the ultimate objectives of anti-abortion lawmakers and activists.”
