AUSTIN, Texas -- New Mexico and Colorado are likely to become major destinations for Texas women seeking an abortion if the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the 1973 Roe versus Wade decision.

Aimee Arrambide, executive director for NARAL Pro-Choice Texas said women there already had a preview of what future abortion access could look like when the governor and attorney general used COVID-19 quarantine measures to block access to abortion care under the guise of public health.

"So for about a month, abortion was completely inaccessible in Texas," Arrambide explained. "And what we saw is an increase in Texans traveling to states where it was more accessible, like New Mexico or Colorado."

Ten states, including Texas, currently have abortion "trigger laws," meaning abortion bans or restrictions that are unenforceable now but designed to go into effect if constitutional precedent changes.

Brandi Collins-Calhoun, senior movement engagement associate for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, noted abortion rights activists across the nation projected a post-Roe world since the appointment of anti-abortion justice Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We've been using language around when Roe gets overturned because it's something that has always seemed inevitable to us," Collins-Calhoun remarked. "But now it's certain that it's going to happen."

Arrambide contended the Texas Legislature is controlled by anti-abortion legislators who don't acknowledge what severe restrictions will mean for women's access to health care.

"One in four people will have an abortion in our lifetime, but because of the stigma surrounding abortion, that's not really front and center," Arrambide asserted. "The anti-abortion people use the word abortion four-to-one times more than our side does, and I think that helps contribute to the stigma."

The Texas Legislature is set to convene mid-January, and a Senate committee previewed bills this week it plans to introduce including a "heartbeat bill" to ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

New York pharmacists would be able to dispense abortion medication under newly proposed legislation, and a person could get the prescription from a physician online or by mail.

This comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued new guidance allowing retail pharmacies to sell abortion pills.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, medication abortions made up 54% of all abortions in the country in 2020.

State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, the bill's author, said it hasn't been filed yet, but if it passes, it should help people who don't want to visit an abortion clinic.

"If you can walk into a pharmacy and get this medication over the counter, you're much more likely to do it," she said. "Not everybody's going to go to a provider; not everyone feels comfortable. And providers are doing this with telehealth, so it doesn't require an exam."

The bill is part of a larger push by New York elected officials to expand abortion services in the state. In anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended federal abortion rights last June, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a far-reaching package of legislation to improve access, as well as $35 million allocated to support abortion providers in New York State's 2022 budget.

While the bill is still in its earliest stages, Paulin said she's ready to meet whatever challenges come when it is filed. Abortion opponents in New York have encouraged such alternatives as better family services and making adoption easier.

Paulin said she knows the work won't end with this bill, adding that she is eager to work on whatever comes next.

"I'm working closely with advocate groups, like Planned Parenthood and ACOG, so if barriers come up, we will immediately address them," she said. "I think right now, we're just exploring some of those barriers and we will be putting legislation in shortly to alleviate them."

Other upcoming legislation would have all SUNY and CUNY colleges and universities offer abortion care, new protections of personal data for anyone seeking an abortion, and increased doctor reimbursement rates for reproductive health-care services.

CVS and Walgreens have announced they will sell abortion medication at pharmacies, after the FDA announced it is allowing mifepristone to be bought over the counter with a prescription. Advocates are applauding the move, and said over-the-counter birth control access would help more women take control of their reproductive health.

Victoria Nichols, project director with a group called Free the Pill, said women often have to take time off from work or school or find transportation or child care to get into a doctor's office to get a prescription.

"Bringing a birth-control pill over the counter would really address some of the unnecessary hoops that folks have to jump through to get to a clinic visit to get a provider to give them a prescription," Nichols said.

Research from KFF finds that overall, contraceptive care is currently falling short nationwide when it comes to access, cost, and patients' needs and preferences.

Nichols added the FDA is currently considering proposals for over-the-counter or "OTC" birth-control pills.

"Right now we know of two companies that are pursuing an RX-to-OTC switch. One is focused on a progestin-only pill, and the other is focused on a combined oral contraceptive," she said.

Last fall, Kentucky voters rejected anti-abortion ballot measure Amendment 2.

Joseph Hammer, a Lexington resident and volunteer for Showing up for Racial Justice, said he talked with Kentuckians from across the political aisle about the right to an abortion, and recounts the story of speaking at length on the phone with one pro-life resident.

"I say, 'So, can you commit to voting no on constitutional Amendment 2 in November?' And he said he would vote no. And so this is a self-identified conservative pro-life guy voting no. And that's why this amendment was defeated," Hammer said.

Volunteers headquartered in Jefferson and Boyd counties made more than 100,000 calls to Kentuckians, and held more than 20,000 thousand conversations with voters.

The Wyoming Supreme Court has decided it will not weigh in on a lawsuit that has temporarily halted a ban on abortions in the state. Citing a state constitutional amendment passed by 70% percent of voters in 2012, a pregnant woman and a law student have argued in a case before Ninth District Judge Melissa Owens that Wyoming's trigger law prevents their ability to make decisions about their health care.

Abigail Fournier, Attorney at Cheyenne-based Steiner, Fournier and Zook, said physicians involved in the lawsuit have a similar concern.

"They are claiming essentially that the new law prevents the physician's ability to practice evidence-based health care when it comes to pregnancy related issues," she said.

The district court asked justices to respond to 12 questions regarding the constitutionality of House Bill 92 banning abortions. The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided that the U.S. Constitution does not protect the right to abortion when it overturned Roe v. Wade. The state has argued abortion is not mentioned in Wyoming's constitution and said the new law is necessary to protect the lives of unborn children.

Advocates for women's reproductive health care have pointed out that banning access to abortions can also lead to the death of the mother. Fournier said Wyoming justices do not have to fall in line with the U.S. Supreme Court, in part because the state's constitution specifically affirms the right of all residents to make decisions related to their health care, so long as they are competent.

"Wyomingites have always really had this ideal of 'we don't want the government in our business.' And so we've passed amendments to our constitution that have created a constitution that actually affords more protection against government infringement than the U.S. Constitution," she said.

Fournier said the impacts of the U-S Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe could extend beyond the state's trigger law. She recalled a bill before state lawmakers that would ban medical treatment for transgender minors, and a law recently passed by Congress ensuring protections for same-sex and inter-racial marriage.

"Because that was a law that followed Roe v. Wade in that line of precedent. There's a lot of laws and a lot of rights that are impacted by the overturning of Roe, and I think that a lot of other issues will likely come before the court," she said.