Courts keep weighing in on abortion. Next month's elections could mean even bigger changes

Two court rulings Monday bolstered abortion opponents, with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Texas could ban emergency abortions if they violate state law and Georgia's top court allowing enforcement of the abortion ban in that state.

The rulings are the latest in a legal saga that's been playing out a few rulings at a time across the U.S. for the past two years — since the nation's top court overturned Roe v. Wade, ended the nationwide right to abortion, and opened the door to bans and restrictions, as well as the new legal fights that followed.

Meanwhile, abortion is also a top concern for voters ahead of next month's elections, including in nine states where it's on the ballot directly in the form of state constitutional amendments.

Here are five key things to know about the latest abortion developments across the country.

In the fallout of the 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, President Joe Biden's administration told hospitals that federal law required them to provide abortion services when the life of the pregnant person was at risk.

Texas sued over the policy, saying the federal government could not mandate the right to abortions that would violate the state's ban at all stages of pregnancy, with exceptions to protect the health and life of the woman. A federal appeals court sided with the state, ruling in January that the administration had overstepped its authority.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court let that ruling stand. The justices did not detail their reasoning.

A weeks after a Georgia judge blocked the state's ban on abortion after the first six weeks or so of pregnancy, the state Supreme Court on Monday put it back into place — at least for now.

The state's top court said the ban on abortion once cardiac activity can be detected, generally about six weeks into pregnancy and often before women realize they're pregnant, can be enforced while it considers the state's appeal of the September ruling.

It's not clear how many abortions were provided in the state that could not have been under the ban during the week the rules were relaxed. Some clinics said they were willing to provide abortions after six weeks, though.

The ruling meant that four states again bar abortion in most cases after about six weeks of pregnancy.

In another late-September development, a North Dakota ruling from earlier in the month striking down that state's abortion ban became official.

That means that 13 states are now enforcing bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, instead of 14.

But the impact of the ruling in North Dakota is limited to hospitals in the nation's second-least populous state.

The only clinic that provided abortions in the state moved from Fargo to nearby Moorhead, Minnesota, after the Dobbs ruling was made and North Dakota's ban took effect.

Court rulings are not the only place where abortion policy decisions are being made.

Voters in nine states are determining whether to add the right to abortion to their state constitutions.

In Missouri and South Dakota, the measures would undo current bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy. In Florida, it would lift a ban that kicks in after six weeks.

Nebraska has competing measures on the ballot. One would create the right to abortion until fetal viability, generally considered to be around 23 or 24 weeks into pregnancy. The other would enshrine the current ban that kicks in after 12 weeks.

In Arizona, Colorado, Maryland and Montana, it would enshrine, and in some cases expand, abortion rights. Nevada's vote would, too, but to take effect, the measure would have to pass a second time, in 2026.

Additionally, New York voters will decide on an amendment that would bar discrimination on the basis of pregnancy status, though it does not mention abortion by name.

Abortion is a major issue in elections for office, too — including the presidential race.

Vice President Kamala Harris has been focusing on abortion rights in her presidential campaign. She says she wants to “reinstate the protections of Roe”. She talked about it on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast this week and in a speech last month in Georgia.

Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee, has taken credit for nominating Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe. He says that the issue should be up to the states and, recently, that he would veto a nationwide abortion ban if Congress passed one. He has also said he would vote against the Florida ballot measure, though he has also criticized it as too restrictive.

FILE - In this March 30, 2021 file photo, anti-abortion rights demonstrators gather in the rotunda at the Capitol while the Senate debated anti-abortion bills in Austin, Texas. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP, File)

FILE - Protesters line the street around the front of the Nebraska Capitol during an Abortion Rights Rally, July 4, 2022, in Lincoln, Neb. (Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star via AP, File)

Trump supporters who turned out to protest against abortion follow the bus at the start of the "Reproductive Freedom Bus Tour" by the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Gov. Tim Walz, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in Boynton Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Anti-abortion activists rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

FILE - An. Abortion rights demonstrator holds a sign during a rally on May 14, 2022, in Chattanooga, Tenn. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

FILE - Arizona abortion-rights supporters gather for a news conference prior to delivering over 800,000 petition signatures to the capitol to get abortion rights on the November general election ballot Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are steadying themselves on Tuesday as falling oil prices release some of the pressure that’s built up on the market.

The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in afternoon trading and clawing back most of its loss from the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 96 points, or 0.2%, and likewise nearing its record set last week, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% higher, as of 12:41 p.m. Eastern time.

Wall Street held firm even though stock markets around the world sank following scary swings in China, as euphoria about possible stimulus for the world’s second-largest economy gave way to disappointment. Stocks tumbled 9.4% in Hong Kong for their worst day since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Helping to support Wall Street was a sharp drawdown in oil prices. They gave back some of the big recent gains they made on worries that worsening tensions in the Middle East could ultimately lead to disruptions in the flow of oil.

A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4.5% to $77.28. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude, meanwhile, eased 5.1% to $73.25.

Pressure coming from the bond market on the stock market also leveled off a bit. Treasury yields were holding steadier, a day after they shot to their highest levels since the summer.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.02% from 4.03% late Monday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with overnight interest rates, edged down to 3.96% from 3.99%, late Monday, though it's still near its highest level since August.

When Treasurys are paying higher yields, investors generally become less willing to pay very high prices for stocks and other investments. And Treasury yields have been storming higher over the last week following a suite of reports showing the U.S. economy may be healthier than expected.

Such reports, including one last week showing much stronger hiring by U.S. employers than forecast, raise hopes that the economy will avoid a recession. But they also force traders to ratchet back expectations for how much the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by, now that it has widened its focus to include keeping the economy humming instead of just fighting high inflation.

Traders have abandoned expectations for the Fed to cut its main interest rate by a larger-than-usual half of a percentage point at its next meeting, for example. Instead, they’re largely betting on a traditional-sized cut of a quarter of a percentage point, according to data from CME Group. Some are even betting on a small possibility the Fed could keep its main rate steady in November.

On Wall Street, PepsiCo rose 0.7% after delivering stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its revenue fell short.

CEO Ramon Laguarta also said the company now expects a “low single-digit” increase in an important measure of revenue for the year after it had earlier forecast growth of about 4%. U.S. consumers continue to pull back on buying snacks and drinks after years of price increases.

DocuSign jumped 7.9% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the electronic document signing company would join its S&P MidCap 400 index. DocuSign will replace MDU Resources, which will be bumped down to the S&P SmallCap 600 after announcing last week that it was spinning off its construction services subsidiary, Everus Construction Group.

On the losing end of Wall Street were oil-and-gas companies, which gave back some of their big recent gains driven by the jump in crude prices. Chevron fell 1.9% and was one of the bigger reasons the Dow was lagging other indexes.

In stock markets abroad, trading in mainland China reopened following a national holiday. Before, indexes in Shanghai and Shenzhen had surged on hopes for stimulus from the government and the central bank meant to prop up the economy’s flagging growth.

On Tuesday, China’s economic planning agency outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but it refrained from major spending initiatives. That helped lead to the 9.4% drop for the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong.

In Shanghai, where the market had been closed as Hong Kong ran higher over the last week, stocks rose 4.6% following their reopening.

The disappointment in China had worldwide effects, knocking down stocks of companies in Europe, the United States and elsewhere that do lots of business in and around China. Estee Lauder fell 2.3%, for example, while Wynn Resorts lost 2%.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott, Elaine Kurtenbach and Zen Soo contributed.

The New York Stock Exchange, rear, is shown on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE - Signs mark the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street in the Financial District on Oct. 2, 2024, in New York. Trinity Church is in the background. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Sept. 24, 2024., 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)