Several prominent groups now say they would support a national abortion ban after as many as 15 weeks or as few as six, all lower than Roe’s standard of around 23 or 24. A vocal faction is talking about "abortion abolition," proposing legislation to outlaw abortion after conception, with few if any exceptions in cases of rape or incest. The sprawling anti-abortion grass-roots campaign is rapidly approaching an entirely new era, one in which abortion would no longer be a nationally protected right to overcome, but a decision to be legislated by individual states. For many activists, overturning Roe would mark what they see as not the end, but a new beginning to limit abortion access even further.

It also would present a test, as those who have long backed incremental change could clash with those who increasingly push to end legal abortion altogether. This week, many anti-abortion leaders were wary of celebrating before the court’s final ruling, expected this summer. Both groups have been hoping to build support in Congress for a national abortion ban, even if it could take years, just as it did to gain momentum to undo Roe. Next week Democrats in the Senate are bringing a bill to codify abortion rights to a vote, but it is all but certain to be blocked by Republicans.

Abortion rights advocates are using the moment to re-energize their own supporters, organize protests and mobilize for midterm elections in November. The reality of the leaked draft shocked casual supporters of abortion rights who weren’t paying particularly close attention to the issue, or who had grown numb after decades of warnings about the end of Roe. Across the anti-abortion spectrum, everything is on the table, from instituting bans when fetal cardiac activity is detected, to pressing their case in Democratic strongholds. Some activists are prioritizing limiting medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of all abortions.

original source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/07/us/anti-abortion-movement-roe-v-wade.html