RICHMOND, Va. -- Curbing access to reproductive health-care services, including abortion, can have disastrous effects on economic well-being, according to a new report from the Women's Policy Research Institute.

A Democratic-led legislature in Virginia has eased some restrictions over the past few years. But the report shows lack of access results in loss of wages and, sometimes, leaving the labor force, hitting low-income Virginians the hardest.

Nicole Mason, President and CEO of the Institute, said the Commonwealth's economy loses about $600 million a year due to state-level abortion restrictions.

"Many of the restrictions that limit the reproductive health access to women, in the state of Virginia alone, we could see more than $2 billion in increased earnings for women, ages 15 to 44," Mason outlined.

Since Texas passed a law banning abortions after six weeks, before most women know they are pregnant, abortion rights erupted as a hot-button issue in Virginia's governor's race. Democrat Terry McAuliffe ran ads supporting the "right to choose" shortly after the law passed. Republican Glenn Youngkin has mostly avoided the topic, he said, to appeal to independent voters.

The study comes as Planned Parenthood in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. announced it will be providing at-home abortion medication and health services as an option.

Dr. Serina Floyd, medical director for Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, pointed out the service is geared for those who face barriers to getting care, who may be low-income, cannot afford to take time off work or don't have services nearby.

"We know that 93% of Virginia counties don't have any clinics that provide abortion," Floyd noted. "So, when you're talking about such a huge desert, when there is such great need, anything that can be done to bring the service to where the patient is -- as opposed to requiring the patient to come to where the service is -- is going to make a huge difference."

Nationwide, abortion bans and targeted restrictions on providers cost state and local economies $105 billion each year, the report found, by reducing women's income and workforce participation.

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling related to the Texas six-week abortion ban this week, and hears arguments Dec. 1 in a Mississippi case experts say could challenge the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade.

Tamara Weider, Kentucky state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said Kentuckians' already restricted access to abortion is at risk. She cites state lawmakers' passage earlier this year of a constitutional amendment making it easier to ban abortion in the state if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

"This 'no right to abortion' amendment does not have any exemptions for rape, for incest, for sexual assault or fetal anomaly, or even life of the mother," Weider pointed out.

Kentuckians will vote on the constitutional amendment next November. House Bill 91 would create a new section of Kentucky's Constitution stating the Commonwealth does not secure or protect a right to or funding of abortion. Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and West Virginia have enacted similar amendments.

Weider explained Kentucky law requires women be given counseling and wait 24-hours before an abortion. It also requires providers to perform an ultrasound and explain to the patient what it depicts. Weider said the Texas lawmakers' six-week abortion ban is a template for other states seeking to pass similar measures.

"We've heard from legislators in Frankfort," Weider noted. "They do intend to bring about some version of the Texas bill. What that looks like is yet to be determined because they haven't pre-filed anything."

Weider sees the Mississippi case as a pivotal moment for abortion access nationwide. 'Dobbs versus Jackson' involves a law which bans all abortions after 15 weeks, before fetal viability, which medical experts say occurs at 24 weeks of gestation. Weider noted a similar Kentucky law was struck down in 2019.

"I think that it's very safe to say that we are going to see, legislatively, a complete and utter attack on what's left of access," Weider projected.

In a recent poll by the Washington Post and ABC, 60% of Americans said they believe the Roe v. Wade decision should be upheld, and 27% believe the Supreme Court should overturn it. Three-quarters of respondents said abortion decisions should be left to women and their doctors.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- States like South Dakota are being closely watched as the U.S. Supreme Court takes up abortion cases elsewhere in the country.

Because of so-called "trigger laws," some are warning about the potential fallout.

This week, justices heard arguments about new abortion restrictions in Texas, and will soon look at a Mississippi case viewed as a direct threat to Roe v. Wade.

South Dakota is one of eleven states where abortions would be banned if the landmark federal law was overturned.

Kim Floren, co-founder of the Justice Empowerment Network, which helps people in the state access abortion care, said full restrictions would have a devastating effect.

"Abortion saves lives," Floren asserted. "And when people don't have access to it, then their quality of life suffers."

She pointed to circumstances when a pregnancy can threaten the mother's life. Floren also worries miscarriages will come under heavy scrutiny if bans are allowed.

Gov. Kristi Noem said she wants to ensure South Dakota remains a strong anti-abortion state. She signed a recent order restricting abortion medication, and has said she hopes for tighter laws in the future.

The Guttmacher Institute said South Dakota has only two facilities providing abortions.

Floren noted being in a state with a largely hostile view toward the procedure makes it harder for people to talk about critical moments in their reproductive health.

"If you drive through the state, there is an anti-abortion billboard in every single small town that you drive in," Floren observed.

Several states surrounding South Dakota also have trigger laws, and Floren added especially those living on the margins would have to go to great lengths to end a pregnancy.

Anti-abortion advocates say religious beliefs play a role in their decision, but Floren argued people can encounter a variety of unexpected situations, and in some pregnancies, she said emergencies make abortion a necessary option.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio again is jumping into the national debate over abortion access, with a new bill introduced that mirrors Texas' strict abortion ban.

House Bill 480 would ban all abortions in Ohio and allow any person to file a lawsuit against a medical provider who performs the procedure, or who "aids or abets" an abortion. Its backers are calling it the "2363 Act," claiming the number represents the number of abortions performed each day in the United States.

Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, said the so-called vigilante provision is copied directly from the Texas bill.

"This is such a sick game of ping-pong that Ohio and Texas are playing right now," she said. "The first six-week ban was introduced here, and Texas took it and added the vigilante piece. Now, Ohio is picking it back up and adding a total ban to it. It's incredibly dangerous."

Under HB 480, anyone who performs an abortion could face a fine of up to $10,000. Supporters argue that human life starts at the moment of fertilization and deserves protection. Opponents counter that it's an attack on women's rights and reproductive health.

Last week, a second hearing was heard in the Ohio Senate on an abortion trigger bill, Senate Bill 123, which would ban abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Also, Mason became the second Ohio city to prohibit abortion within city limits.

Mason resident Nikki Foster said she believes it puts politics before a person's medical well-being and suspects it's also based on the Texas ban.

"We just don't believe, and we know, that this doesn't reflect our values," she said. "If the Texans can come by and plop this on a city council's desk, this can happen everywhere else, too."

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week regarding a challenge to the Texas law, and Copeland said it's difficult to know if local or state attempts to ban abortion will stick.

"With anti-abortion politicians falling all over themselves to one-up each other, and the state of the U.S. Supreme Court, we really don't know," she said, "but they're trying to strip everyone of their ability to accomplish abortion care, regardless of the reason or where they live."

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This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.