Abortion in Vermont#Context
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Abortion in Vermont is legal at all stages of pregnancy. A 2014 Pew Research Center poll showed 70% of adults in the state believed abortion should be legal in most or all cases, the second highest percentage in the country. The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 76% of Vermonters said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-02 |title=Abortion Views in All 50 States: Findings from PRRI’s 2023 American Values Atlas {{!}} PRRI |url=https://www.prri.org/research/abortion-views-in-all-50-states-findings-from-prris-2023-american-values-atlas/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=PRRI {{!}} At the intersection of religion, values, and public life. |language=en-US}} The state funds abortions deemed medically necessary for low-income women via Medicaid.
In November 2022, voters overwhelmingly passed Proposal 5, the Reproductive Liberty Amendment, becoming the first U.S. state to amend their constitution to explicitly include protections for abortion rights.{{Cite news |last=Lefrak |first=Mikaela |date=2022-11-09 |title=Vermont votes to protect abortion rights in state constitution |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/11/09/1134832172/vermont-votes-abortion-constitution-midterms-results |access-date=2022-11-10}}{{Cite web |last=Seddiq |first=Hannah Getahun, Isabella Zavarise, Oma |title=RESULTS: Vermont overwhelmingly votes to protect reproductive autonomy, including abortion |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/results-vermont-proposal-5-reproductive-autonomy-2022-11 |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Duffort |first=Lola |date=2022-11-08 |title=Vermont becomes the 1st state to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution |url=https://vtdigger.org/2022/11/08/measure-to-enshrine-abortion-rights-in-vermont-constitution-poised-to-pass/ |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=VTDigger |language=en-US}}
History
= Legislative history =
By the end of the 1800s, all states in the Union except Louisiana had medical exceptions in their legislative bans on abortions.{{Cite journal|last=Buell|first=Samuel|date=1991-01-01|title=Criminal Abortion Revisited|url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/2174|journal=New York University Law Review|volume=66|issue=6 |pages=1774–1831|pmid=11652642}} In the 19th century, bans on abortion by state legislatures were largely about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens.
As of 2013, California, Oregon, Montana, Vermont, and New Hampshire allow qualified non-physician health professionals, such as physicians' assistants, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives, to do first-trimester aspiration abortions and to prescribe drugs for medical abortions.{{cite web|url=https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/01/13403/study-abortions-are-safe-when-performed-nurse-practitioners-physician-assistants|title=Study: Abortions Are Safe When Performed By Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Certified Nurse Midwives|access-date=2017-01-25}}
In February 2019, Vermont House Human Services and Judiciary committees held public hearings about abortion in relation to H.57, a bill to establish reproductive rights in state law. Proposal 5, the Reproductive Liberty Amendment, an amendment to the state constitution to codify abortion rights, was passed by the state senate.{{cite web|url=https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/abortion-law-by-state/|title=Are there *any* states working to protect abortion rights?|date=2019-05-17|website=Well+Good|language=en|access-date=May 25, 2019}}{{cite news |title=Vermont governor gives notice of abortion amendment vote |url=https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-abortion-reproductive-rights-constitutions-vermont-c1bda0e0515a696cd78112aee01c8a28 |access-date=2022-10-31 |work=AP News}} Receiving endorsements from Republican Governor Phil Scott, Planned Parenthood, and ACLU Vermont, the amendment went before voters in November 2022 and overwhelmingly passed, with about 77% voting in favor.{{Cite web |date=2022-11-09 |title=Vermont Conversation: The abortion election and male allies |url=https://vtdigger.org/2022/11/09/vermont-conversation-the-abortion-election-and-male-allies/ |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=VTDigger}}
== Amendment text ==
{{blockquote|Personal reproductive liberty
That an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.|sign=|source=Chapter 1, Article 22 of the Vermont Constitution.}}
= Judicial history =
In 1972, the Vermont Supreme Court issued a ruling that effectively ended abortion restrictions in the state. The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in 2022, returning the matter to the states.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/24/politics/dobbs-mississippi-supreme-court-abortion-roe-wade/index.html |title=Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade |first=Ariane |last=de Vogue |date=June 24, 2022 |access-date=June 24, 2022 |work=CNN |archive-date=June 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624141808/https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/24/politics/dobbs-mississippi-supreme-court-abortion-roe-wade/index.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Howe |first1=Amy |title=Supreme Court overturns constitutional right to abortion |url=https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/06/supreme-court-overturns-constitutional-right-to-abortion/ |work=SCOTUSblog |date=June 24, 2022 |access-date=June 24, 2022 |archive-date=June 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624142633/https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/06/supreme-court-overturns-constitutional-right-to-abortion/ |url-status=live}}
= Clinic history =
File:Number of abortion clinics in Vermont by year.png
{{See also|Abortion clinic}}Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state declined by three, going from nineteen in 1982 to sixteen in 1992.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RDqXplZptaIC|title=A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights|last1=Arndorfer|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Michael|first2=Jodi|last3=Moskowitz|first3=Laura|last4=Grant|first4=Juli A.|last5=Siebel|first5=Liza|date=December 1998|publisher=DIANE Publishing|isbn=9780788174810|language=en}} In 2014, there were six abortion clinics in the state.{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-abortion-clinics-are-in-america-each-state-2017-2|title=The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state|last=Gould|first=Rebecca Harrington, Skye|website=Business Insider|access-date=2019-05-23}} 64% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 38% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.es/abortion-access-in-america-maps-charts-if-roe-falls-2018-8|title=This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell|author1=Panetta, Grace |author2=lee, Samantha|date=2018-08-04|website=Business Insider|language=es|access-date=2019-05-24|archive-date=May 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524083342/https://www.businessinsider.es/abortion-access-in-america-maps-charts-if-roe-falls-2018-8|url-status=dead}} In 2017, there were twelve Planned Parenthood clinics, of which six offered abortion services, in a state with a population of 136,459 women aged 15–49.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-planned-parenthood-locations-states/|title=Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood|access-date=2019-05-23|language=en}}
Abortions beyond 22 weeks of pregnancy in Vermont are only available at the University of Vermont Medical Center for limited medical reasons.{{Cite web |last=James |first=Megan |date=2022-09-22 |title=Guest editorial: Dangerous misinformation on abortion |url=https://www.addisonindependent.com/2022/09/22/guest-editorial-dangerous-misinformation-on-abortion-question/ |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=Addison Independent |language=en-US}}
Statistics
In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero recorded illegal abortion deaths in the state.{{Cite journal|last1=Cates|first1=Willard|last2=Rochat|first2=Roger|date=March 1976|title=Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974|journal=Family Planning Perspectives|volume=8|issue=2|pages=86–92 |doi=10.2307/2133995|jstor=2133995|pmid=1269687}} In 1990, 67,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy. In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were 190 abortions, 0 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 10 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 10 abortions for women of all other races.{{cite web|url=https://data.guttmacher.org/states/table?state=AL+AK+AZ+AR+CA+CO+CT+DE+DC+FL+GA+HI+ID+IL+IN+IA+KS+KY+LA+ME+MD+MA+MI+MN+MS+MO+MT+NE+NV+NH+NJ+NM+NY+NC+ND+OH+OK+OR+PA+RI+SC+SD+TN+TX+UT+VT+VA+WA+WV+WI+WY&dataset=data&topics=87|title=No. of abortions among women aged 15–19, by state of residence, 2013 by racial group|website=Guttmacher Data Center|access-date=2019-05-24}} In 2014, 70% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.{{cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/|title=Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics {{!}} Pew Research Center|language=en-US|access-date=May 23, 2019}} In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births.{{cite web |title=Stats of the state of Vermont |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/vermont/vermont.htm |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=May 24, 2019 |access-date=2022-10-31}}
| class="wikitable"
|+ Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996{{cite journal|url=https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/psrh/1998/11/abortion-incidence-and-services-united-states-1995-1996|title=Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996|date=2005-06-15|journal=Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health|volume=30 |pages=263–270 |language=en|access-date=2019-06-02 |last1=Henshaw |first1=Stanley K.}} ! Census division and state | colspan="3" | Number | colspan="3" | Rate | % change 1992–1996 | ||||
| Year | 1992 | 1995 | 1996 | 1992 | 1995 | 1996 | |
| Total | 1,528,930 | 1,363,690 | 1,365,730 | 25.9 | 22.9 | 22.9 | –12 |
| New England | 78,360 | 71,940 | 71,280 | 25.2 | 23.6 | 23.5 | –7 |
| Connecticut | 19,720 | 16,680 | 16,230 | 26.2 | 23 | 22.5 | –14 |
| Maine | 4,200 | 2,690 | 2,700 | 14.7 | 9.6 | 9.7 | –34 |
| Massachusetts | 40,660 | 41,190 | 41,160 | 28.4 | 29.2 | 29.3 | 3 |
| New Hampshire | 3,890 | 3,240 | 3,470 | 14.6 | 12 | 12.7 | –13 |
| Rhode Island | 6,990 | 5,720 | 5,420 | 30 | 25.5 | 24.4 | –19 |
Abortion financing
17 states including Vermont use their own funds to cover all or most medically necessary abortions sought by low-income women under Medicaid, 13 of which are required by State court orders to do so.{{cite web|url=http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq.htm|title=Frequently Asked Questions|author=Francis Roberta W.|work=Equal Rights Amendment|publisher=Alice Paul Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417234051/http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq.htm|archive-date=2009-04-17|url-status=dead|access-date=2009-09-13}} In 2010, the state had 699 publicly funded abortions, of which all were state funded and none were federally funded.{{cite web|url=https://data.guttmacher.org/states/table?state=AL+AK+AZ+AR+CA+CO+CT+DE+DC+FL+GA+HI+ID+IL+IN+IA+KS+KY+LA+ME+MD+MA+MI+MN+MS+MO+MT+NE+NV+NH+NJ+NM+NY+NC+ND+OH+OK+OR+PA+RI+SC+SD+TN+TX+UT+VT+VA+WA+WV+WI+WY&topics=62&dataset=data|title=Guttmacher Data Center|website=data.guttmacher.org|access-date=2019-05-24}}
Abortion rights views and activities
= Protests =
File:Montpelier, Vermont - Women's march! (source Putneypics).jpg
Throughout the 2000s, women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights. One march was a part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/21/abortion-laws-stopthebans-rallies-set-across-nation-today/3750913002/|title=Abortion rights supporters' voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation|last=Bacon|first=John|website=USA TODAY|language=en|access-date=May 25, 2019}}{{Cite web |title=State House Rally for Reproductive Rights Planned for Tuesday {{!}} Vermont Business Magazine |url=https://vermontbiz.com/event/may/state-house-rally-reproductive-rights-planned-tuesday |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=vermontbiz.com}}
Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, abortion rights protests were held in multiple cities in Vermont, including Bennington, Brattleboro, Burlington, Montpelier and Rutland, Vermont.{{Cite web |last1=Robinson |first1=Shaun |last2=Peterson |first2=Jenna |last3=Tan |first3=Tiffany |last4=O'Connor |first4=Kevin |last5=Chien |first5=Lia |last6=Keays |first6=Alan J. |last7=Heintz |first7=Paul |title=Vermonters rally throughout the state as Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade |url=https://vtdigger.org/2022/06/24/vermonters-rally-as-supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade/ |website=VT Digger |access-date=June 26, 2022 |date=June 24, 2022}}
Anti-abortion views and activities
= Violence =
In May 1977, a clinic in Burlington, Vermont was destroyed by a fire, resulting in its closure for seven months.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/02/archives/surge-of-vandalism-hits-abortion-clinics-vandalism-and-threats.html|title=Surge of Vandalism Hits Abortion Clinics|last=Battaile|first=Janet|website=New York Times|language=en|access-date=January 11, 2024}}