It's Only February and There Are Already 100 New Anti-Abortion Bills

Two anti-abortion measures were passed by Oklahoma house delegates Wednesday. The first triples the mandatory wait period for a woman seeking an abortion from one day to three days. The second measure bans abortions at the 20-week mark.

More anti-abortion measures snaked their way through state houses this week and will continue to multiply and advance as the election cycle moves forward with Republicans, and even some Democrats, using abortion restrictions as a way to prove their conservative stripes.

The number of new anti-abortion measures for 2015 has already reached 100.

In Arkansas the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee endorsed a measure that would require a doctor to be present when a woman takes an RU-486 pill.

An Arizona Senate panel passed a measure banning women from buying optional abortion coverage through federally backed insurance plans.

In Virginia, Republicans upheld a bill that require mandatory ultrasounds for women seeking an abortion.

South Dakota lawmakers have proposed a bill forbidding women from receiving an abortion because her fetus has Down Syndrome.

Washington wants to notify parents if a minor receives an abortion.

Missouri is proposing a bill that would make women watch an ‘educational’ video before receiving an abortion. It would outlines all the risks related to the procedure, including “infection, hemorrhage, cervical tear or uterine perforation, harm to subsequent pregnancies or the ability to carry a subsequent child to term, and possible adverse psychological effects.”

Reporting done by RH Reality Check and Think Progress show that many of these measures are based on pre-written drafts put together by well funded, national anti-abortion groups, like Americans United for Life and the Nation Right to Life Committee. “Having hundreds of pre-written bills on hand,” Tara Culp-Ressler points out, “allows conservative lawmakers to submit a rash of legislation at the beginning of the session and see what manages to advance.”

Even if these laws do not pass, and many certainly will, women and pro-choice lawmakers will have to work twice as hard just to keep their status quo.