The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization,142 S. Ct. 2288 (2022) which overruled the long-standing precedent of Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) and held that there was no federally protected constitutional right to an abortion heralded a sea change in the law and has resulted in massive inconsistencies in whether, and under what circumstances, abortions are legal in various states. In this regard, multiple states have enacted either outright bans on abortions or have restricted, considerably, the circumstances under which the procedure can be performed. This inconsistency sometimes results in contiguous states having drastic differences in whether the procedure is legal and, on some occasions, whether the recipient and the provider can be charged with a criminal offense. Currently, 13 states have banned abortion completely and 31 states ban abortion after a certain period or gestation and at least one state (Texas) permits private citizens to file lawsuits against providers who perform abortions. see Guttmacher Institute, State Bans on Abortion Throughout Pregnancy, May 31, 2023.

The drastic differences between contiguous states regarding whether abortion is legal is demonstrated by the differing laws of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. Abortions are currently legal in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York and Ohio at the present time. However, Ohio enacted legislation that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. See 2019 Bill Text OH S.B. 23. Although the law became effective on June 24, 2022, it is currently being challenged in the courts and is not yet effective. The Ohio law requires state-directed counseling and a wait of 24 hours before the procedure is performed. To discourage the procedure, the counseling must be provided in person. Health plans included in Ohio's exchange can only cover the procedure in cases of endangerment of life or in cases of rape or incest. Additionally, West Virginia has an outright ban on all abortions unless the procedure is required to save the woman's life, to preserve physical health, if the fetus is not expected to survive and as a result of rape or incest. See 2022 WV HB302.