Since the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs that overturned Roe and said that abortion was subject to regulation by each State, and not an individual right, there have been attempts in Washington to moderate some of its potential effects, particularly in light of Justice Thomas' opinion that the ruling could lead the way to rolling back other rights established by previous court rulings.
There have been some successes and some failures.
Here's a story from the Guardian about some new regulations and interpretations.
The US government just took two big steps on abortion. Will they matter? While the decisions cannot undo abortion bans in the 13 states they exist, it could make a huge difference where the right is protected by Poppy Noor
"This week, the federal government announced two decisions designed to improve abortion access in the US. The first, a rule change made by the Food and Drug Administration, allows pharmacies to dispense mifepristone, one of the two drugs needed for a medication abortion. The second, an opinion drafted by the justice department, gives the US Postal Service the all clear to continue mailing abortion pills, even to states where abortion is severely restricted.
...
These decisions cannot undo abortion bans in the 13 states where they exist. While major pharmacies such as Walgreens and CVS have announced they will seek certification to dispense mifepristone, a prescription for it still will not be legal in states with a ban. Anyone distributing or taking abortion pills in banned states could still face severe consequences. And the justice department opinion will not protect anyone sending pills to a banned state from being prosecuted in that state, or anyone who takes the pills knowingly to induce an abortion from being investigated.
But in states where abortion is protected, both moves could make a big difference, advocates say.
Take California as an example, which recently expanded access for abortion care in its state constitution. Until now, abortion pills had to be dispensed by a doctor, an abortion clinic, or a mail order pharmacy. But even in California, many people live hundreds of miles away from an abortion clinic.
"It is unclear whether the FDA ruling will see pharmacies dispensing mifepristone in states with limits on abortion that fall short of total bans."
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One of the concerns is that some states may declare fetuses to be persons, in a way that would extend their abortion bans to also include forms of assisted reproductive technology such as IVF, which create embryos to allow infertile couples start families. An effort to protect IVF was introduced just before the close of the previous Congress, but it wasn't made into law, and the new Congress is likely to be less sympathetic.
Right to Build Families Act of 2022 (proposed by Senator Tammy Duckworth, but not enacted)
"A BILL To prohibit the limitation of access to assisted reproductive technology, and all medically necessary care surrounding such technology."
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