The Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization a year ago has reshaped reproductive health care across the U.S., with abortion access now banned, severely restricted or unavailable in nearly two dozen states. The issue is likely to be key for voters — and candidates — in the 2024 elections. 

Though Dobbs and the issue of abortion overall have been widely covered by national media, the many ripple effects of the decision and subsequent policy changes continue to evolve, and impacts on women and their families are still emerging. 

One such group is the growing number of women who were unable to obtain wanted abortions post-Dobbs and are now raising infants. What do their lives look like? How has being unable to obtain an abortion affected the overall well being of those individuals and their families?

Do the findings of the Turnaway Study, a 10-year research project that famously documented the impacts of being denied abortions, hold up today? That research, which began in 2008, found that women who couldn’t obtain wanted abortions were more likely to endure long-term economic hardship, abusive relationships, single parenthood and serious health issues, and that their children were more likely to live in poverty and fail to hit development milestones. Only a small handful of stories published in national outlets have documented the lives of women forced into parenthood after Dobbs.

Meanwhile, some people with wanted pregnancies are also experiencing indirect effects of abortion bans. Recent research has documented the challenges that health care providers in states with bans and restrictions face when treating pregnant patients who experience complications or emergencies that require terminating pregnancies. A survey published in June by KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that 68% of OB-GYNs surveyed reported that the Dobbs ruling “worsened their ability to manage pregnancy-related emergencies.” 

Even standard maternity care may be harder to access for some pregnant women, given the predicted exodus of medical residents and professionals from states with abortion restrictions, as well as the growth of so-called maternity care deserts — counties lacking maternity care resources. More than 2 million women of reproductive age live in such counties, according to a report published last fall by the nonprofit organization March of Dimes. Research has shown that pregnant people and infants in states with the strongest abortion restrictions tend to have worse health outcomes and less access to health care, and that Black and Brown women, low-income women and those in rural areas are disproportionately affected. What is it like to seek health care for a wanted pregnancy, only to encounter obstacles resulting from state abortion policies?

For millions of American women of childbearing age, abortion access is highly dependent on where they live and whether they have the means to travel. Over the next year and beyond, as presidential candidates and pundits discuss the politics of abortion access from campaign trails and TV studios, it’s important to continue highlighting the implications of abortion access as a matter of health care, rather than just a political football. Telling the side-by-side stories of those who wanted abortions and those who want to be pregnant is one way to show the high stakes of this issue, both for the first wave of post-Dobbs parents and generations to come.

Reporting in-depth personal stories related to abortion and maternity care isn’t easy: It requires time and money to find sources, earn their trust and put their individual experiences into broader context. Many newsrooms lack the resources to support this kind of work, but with the support of USC’s Center for Health Journalism 2023 National Fellowship, that’s the reporting I hope to do. 

Stay tuned for the resulting stories later this year, which will be published at NBCNews.com. In the meantime, feel free to reach out with any ideas, tips or resources you think could be useful in this reporting. You can find me on Twitter @juliannemcshane or by email at julianne.mcshane@nbcuni.com. 

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge on Monday granted a request from Planned Parenthood to delay implementing the state’s trigger law banning most abortions, as implications of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade reverberate nationwide.

With the decision, abortion remains legal up to 18 weeks in Utah, which is among a group of states where abortion rights have been thrown into limbo amid the legal and political challenges shaping the post-Roe landscape with states now holding the power to restrict abortion.

“What I’m really doing is saying we have serious things to talk about,” Judge Andrew Stone said after granting an injunction delaying the trigger law.

He said the status quo should remain in effect until a challenge from the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliate can be heard fully.

Meanwhile, a Minnesota judge declared most of that state’s restrictions on abortion unconstitutional. In Michigan, a campaign turned in a record-breaking number of signatures so voters can be asked on the November ballot whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

Federally, the Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services said Monday that hospitals “must” provide abortion services if the life of the mother is at risk, saying federal law on emergency treatment guidelines preempts state laws in jurisdictions that now ban the procedure without any exceptions. Currently, even states with the most stringent abortion bans allow exceptions when the health of a mother is at risk, though the threat of prosecution has created confusion for some doctors.

Last month’s Dobbs v. Jackson ruling overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that found the right to abortion was protected by the U.S. Constitution. The issue reverted to the states, setting off new court battles and ballot initiatives as many states act to curtail or ban abortions.

Utah is among more than a dozen states with trigger laws designed to limit abortion upon the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The decision on Monday comes two weeks after the court put a temporary hold on the law, which bans most abortions with exceptions for rape, incest or maternal health. Stone, who was appointed by a Republican governor, blocked its enforcement for 14 days after the state’s branch of Planned Parenthood sued. His decision effectively extends the temporarily hold placed on the law and allows Planned Parenthood clinics to continue providing abortions until the case is resolved.

Attorneys for Utah argued language in the state constitution allowed for abortions to be banned and said delaying the implementation of the trigger law would amount to overruling the will of Legislature and Utah voters. Julie Murray, Planned Parenthood’s attorney, said not delaying the implementation of the law could open its staff to criminal charges and hurt roughly 200 patients with scheduled appointments in the month ahead.

Stone granted a preliminary injunction, which would let Planned Parenthood clinics continue to provide abortion care — up to 18 weeks of pregnancy under another recently passed limit — until the court rules on the constitutional questions.

The judge in Minnesota declared most of the state’s restrictions on abortion unconstitutional, including a 24-hour waiting period and a requirement that both parents be notified before a minor can get an abortion. Ramsey County District Judge Thomas Gilligan also struck down requirements that only physicians can perform abortions and that abortions after the first trimester must be performed in hospitals. His order took effect immediately, meaning the limits can’t be enforced.

Gender Justice and other abortion rights groups argued the restrictions were unconstitutional under a 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court holding that the state constitution protects abortion rights. The judge called that case “significant and historic” and said it’s unaffected by the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

“These abortion laws violate the right to privacy because they infringe upon the fundamental right under the Minnesota Constitution to access abortion care and do not withstand strict scrutiny,” Gilligan wrote.

The ruling is expected to benefit patients from restrictive states who could go to Minnesota for reproductive health care. Providers have been preparing for a surge in patients from neighboring upper Midwest states, and even farther away.

Opponents of abortion rights condemned the decision. Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life said the laws challenged in the case are “common sense measures that support and empower pregnant women” and striking them down blocks residents from “enacting reasonable protections for unborn children and their mothers.” A Republican attorney general candidate called on the Democratic attorney general to appeal.

In a Louisiana state court Monday, legal efforts to stave off the permanent closure of the state’s three abortion clinics were renewed. A New Orleans judge refused last week to extend a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the state’s abortion ban, saying the case belonged in Baton Rouge.

Attorneys for a north Louisiana clinic and an abortion rights group are now seeking a new restraining order from a Baton Rouge judge. Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office says a temporary restraining order cannot be renewed once it has expired.

In Arizona, a federal judge on Monday blocked a 2021 “personhood” law that gives all legal rights to unborn children. Abortion providers argued the law can lead to criminal charges such as assault or child abuse and say it is unconstitutionally vague. Judge Douglas Rayes agreed in his ruling.

All abortions in Arizona stopped last month, but they could restart in at least one county following the ruling.

Alongside lawsuits to challenge bans, abortion rights supporters are trying to add ballot questions to enshrine abortion rights in state constitutions.

More than 750,000 signatures were turned in by the campaign in Michigan on Monday — close to double the number needed. The Democratic governor and attorney general in the battleground state have both made abortion rights a centerpiece of their reelection campaigns.

“The number of signatures showed that here in Michigan we trust women. We trust people. We trust doctors, not politicians, to make decisions about our body, our pregnancy and parenthood,” Reproductive Freedom for All spokesperson Shanay Watson-Whittaker said during a news conference in Lansing.

The signatures still must be verified and validated. A judge has temporarily blocked a 1931 Michigan law that would make abortion a felony except when “necessary to preserve the life of such woman.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said that the law is invalid under the due process and equal protection clauses of the state constitution. The injunction, which stems from a Planned Parenthood lawsuit, could be revoked at any time.

Last week, backers of a last-minute effort to enshrine abortion rights in the Arizona Constitution failed to collect enough signatures to make the November ballot. In California, voters will decide in November whether to guarantee the right to an abortion in their constitution. Democrats who control the government in California fear the state’s abortion laws could be vulnerable to legal challenges.

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