WASHINGTON (AP) — Anti-abortion advocates say there is still work to be done to further restrict access to abortion when Republican Donald Trump returns to the White House next year.
They point to the federal guidance that the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden released around emergency abortions, requiring that hospitals provide them for women whose health or life is at risk, and its easing of prescribing restrictions for abortion pills that have allowed women to order the medication online with the click of a button.
“Now the work begins to dismantle the pro-abortion policies of the Biden-Harris administration," the Susan B. Anthony List, the powerful anti-abortion lobby, said in a statement Wednesday. “President Trump’s first-term pro-life accomplishments are the baseline for his second term.”
The group declined to release details about what, specifically, they will seek to undo. But abortion rights advocates are bracing for further abortion restrictions once Trump takes office. And some women are, too, with online abortion pill orders spiking in the days after Election Day.
Trump has said abortion is an issue for the states, not the federal government. Yet, during the campaign, he pointedly noted that he appointed justices to the Supreme Court who were in the majority when striking down the national right to abortion. And there are things his administration can do, from picking judges to issuing regulations, to further an anti-abortion agenda.
The Trump administration is expected to pull back Biden's controversial directive that requires emergency rooms to provide abortions when necessary to stabilize a woman's health or life. The Biden administration had argued that the decades-old federal law, which requires hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment for patients in exchange for Medicare funding, also applies in cases where an abortion might be needed.
Reports of women being sent home or left untreated by hospitals in dangerous scenarios have proliferated across the United States since the Supreme Court overturned the national right to an abortion in 2022. In some cases, hospitals said state abortion bans had stopped them from terminating a pregnancy.
“We're seeing the lives of pregnant people be put in jeopardy," Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, said Wednesday. "We're seeing women who have become infertile, who have been subject to sepsis and we're now hearing reports with death."
Even if a Trump administration abandons the guidance of the law, Goss Graves said advocacy groups like hers will continue a legal fight for the Biden administration's interpretation of the law.
Some doctors and hospitals also have said the federal guidance offered a protection for them to perform emergency abortions in states like Idaho and Texas, where threat of prosecution for performing an abortion hangs over their decision-making.
Trump has said he supports exceptions for rape and incest cases, as well as when a woman's life is at risk. But he has not gone as far as saying he supports exemptions when a woman's health is on the line.
Abortions might be necessary to prevent organ loss, significant hemorrhage or dangerous infections for pregnant women in rare but serious scenarios. In cases like ectopic pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes and placental abruptions, a fetus might still be alive but continuing the pregnancy can be detrimental. Doctors have argued that the legal gray area has put them in a bind.
In Idaho, for example, one hospital resorted to airlifting women out of the state after a strict abortion ban, which only allowed for abortions to prevent a woman's death, was enacted.
The Biden administration sued Idaho, arguing its state law conflicted with federal law requiring hospitals to provide stabilizing treatment, which might include abortions, for patients. The state amended its law to allow abortions for ectopic pregnancies, but other dangerous scenarios still remain unaccounted for. The Supreme Court declined to address the issue earlier this year, issuing a limited order that cleared the way for hospitals to provide emergency abortions while the case worked its way through lower courts.
Enforcement of the federal law, however, is on hold in Texas, which challenged the Biden administration's guidance on emergency abortions.
A patchwork of state laws governing abortion will remain in place under the Trump administration. Voters in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota on Tuesday defeated constitutional amendments, leaving bans in place.
In Missouri, however, voters approved a ballot measure on Tuesday to undo one of the nation's strictest bans. Abortion rights amendments also passed in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland and Montana. Nevada voters also approved an amendment, but they’ll need to pass it again in 2026 for it to take effect.
The ease with which women have been able to get abortion pills could also be up for reconsideration under Trump.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Food and Drug Administration made it easier to obtain abortion pills, including mifepristone, allowing women to access the medication over telehealth. The agency has approved the drug's safety through 10 weeks of pregnancy, saying that adverse effects happen for .32% of patients.
Anti-abortion advocates have challenged that, arguing the medications are not safe and at the very least not fit for eased access without in-person supervision by a doctor.
Although the Supreme Court preserved access to the drug earlier this year, anti-abortion advocates and conservative states have renewed their challenge in lower courts.
Some women are worried. Telehealth company Wisp saw an immediate spike in abortion pill orders between Election Day and the following day, with a 600% increase. In states like Florida and Texas, where the medication cannot be legally shipped, the company saw a nearly 1000% percent increase in orders of so-called “morning after” pills, also known as emergency contraception.
The company fills about tens of thousands of orders monthly for reproductive products including birth control pills and abortion pills, CEO Monica Cepak told the Associated Press.
Right now women typically take a two-step regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol to complete a medication abortion. Cepak said the company will keep a “close eye” on mifepristone under a Trump administration and is prepared to shift to a misoprostol-only regimen should restriction to mifepristone be implemented.
But Trump could be a wild card on the issue, said Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis who is an expert on reproductive health issues. In the final months of the campaign, he backed away from a more rigid stance on abortion — even saying he would not sign a national abortion ban if it came across his desk.
Although he has enjoyed firm backing from anti-abortion groups, he is willing to break with allies when he wants.
“I don’t think we have a clear sense from him about what he would do,” Ziegler said.
Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
FILE - Mifepristone tablets are seen in a Planned Parenthood clinic July 18, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Klay Thompson exited the team bus then beamed as he strolled back into Chase Center on Tuesday night, greeted by some 400 cheering Warriors employees who lined up along his path to the Dallas locker room to show their love and appreciation for the former Golden State star.
They sported “Captain Klay” hats, the giveaway for all fans on a celebratory night remembering Thompson's 13 years with the franchise, two of those spent injured, and four championships he helped win here.
Those white hats filled Chase Center, where video highlights of Thompson showed in a place where he's still beloved — and always will be. Stephen Curry jogged up to Thompson, now wearing No. 31 with teammate Kyrie Irving in No. 11, and offered a quick embrace before Andrew Wiggins also hugged his old teammate.
Earlier, after a brief jump-rope routine outside the Mavericks' locker room, Thompson ran out the tunnel and onto the floor to thunderous applause from Warriors fans with phones up to capture the moment of Thompson's return.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry had considered addressing the crowd before tipoff but spoke with Thompson and they decided to each focus on the game, though Kerr knew it would be something when they had to defend each other.
Who would the Warriors put on Thompson?
“I'm not telling you,” Kerr cracked.
Curry fouled his former Splash Brother 15 seconds into the game and Thompson scored the initial two points of the contest on free throws. Thompson missed his initial two field-goal attempts before knocking down a 3-pointer with 1:26 remaining in the opening quarter.
“I imagine that he'll be the exact same guy that I watched for 10 years, so he's always aggressive,” Kerr said. “I'm sure he's coming out firing and none of us would have it any way different than that.”
The Warriors invited all their employees to be part of the welcoming committee for Thompson, who joined Dallas in July on a three-year, $50 million contract. Thompson, 34, missed more than 2 1/2 years — the entire 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons — recovering from surgeries on his left knee and right Achilles tendon before making his comeback in January 2022.
“I think what he overcame is almost unprecedented,” Kerr said. “... The last couple of years after he came back he struggled reconciling all of that, losing those prime seasons. We all saw that, saw him struggle with it emotionally. We saw him fight to get his game back. He helped us win a championship, led the league in 3s two years ago, he did a lot of amazing things.
"We wished that this had gone forever, that Klay would have finished his career with us but circumstances always dictate these things. In the end I think he made the right choice. I think he needed a fresh start, I think he needed kind of a new set of surroundings and that was apparent last year. He was not happy and that was hard to see, because he deserves to be happy. At his core he's a very happy person.”
Thompson has tried to downplay the magnitude of being back in the Bay Area, though it certainly was emotional for everybody involved.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, and basketball is basketball,” he said.
But when the home crowd went crazy and tipped those captain hats when he was introduced, Thompson became visibly emotional and clearly touched by the tribute. He waved and saluted in several directions.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd called the Mavericks “lucky to get him," and imagined how hard this might be for Thompson with so many emotions.
“He’s a true pro. Comes to work, understands what it means to win,” Kidd said. "We can talk about his ability to shoot the ball, space and his gravity. We can run him around, he’s going to create space for others. So when you talk about the big picture that’s hard to find, and we didn’t have that, and it was much-needed.”
Golden State held a “Salute Captain Klay” ceremony before tipoff to pay tribute to Thompson’s contributions to the franchise and his tradition of boating across the bay to games. He will be back again in February in the Mavs' second trip to Chase Center.
“This is all staff. It's unbelievable,” Warriors President and COO Brandon Schneider said. “What Klay has meant to our organization and to all of us the last 13 years, the team accomplishments, individual accomplishments, who he is as a person, what he's done in the community, it is a special night.”
For Kerr, this moment felt far different from Thompson's triumphant return nearly three years ago from the injuries and daunting grind of rehab that the veteran guard considered some of the most difficult days of his life.
“That was a welcome back, we knew there were a lot of good times ahead. In fact there was a championship six months later,” Kerr said. “This one is obviously more of a goodbye, the first time we will have seen him. ... It'll feel very strange but it will be a different vibe, more of a thank you and a goodbye and everything that you've meant to us."
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson, right, is defended by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson, left, loses the ball while driving to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson waves toward fans before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and the Mavericks in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Fans cheer as Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson jogs onto the court to warm up before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson warms up before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, left, hugs Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson, middle, as guard Kyrie Irving, right, walks on the court before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson reacts toward fans before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and the Mavericks in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., right, shoots over Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
FILE - Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) shoots against Utah Jazz forward's Darius Bazley (21) and Brice Sensabaugh (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, April 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn, File)
FILE - Golden State Warriors guards Klay Thompson, left, and Stephen Curry and forward Draymond Green, right, laugh while being interviewed, Nov. 30, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson, foreground left, is greeted by Golden State Warriors employees and media as he arrives before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game between the Warriors and the Mavericks in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson is greeted by Golden State Warriors employees and media as he arrives before an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game between the Warriors and the Mavericks in San Francisco, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
