WASHINGTON (OSV News) — State laws of interest to Catholics spanned policy areas from abortion to IVF to immigration in 2024. An expected ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025 could have an impact on state laws across the country banning certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender.
State ballot initiatives on abortion reshape map of restrictions
Voters in seven of 10 states with ballot referendums on abortion voted to codify abortion as a right in their state constitution, but three states Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota defied that trend, marking the first victories on such measures for pro-life activists since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022.
In the same election that saw former President Donald Trump elected to another term in the White House, voters approved most of the referendums to expand legal protections for abortion in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada and Missouri, and related measures in Maryland and New York, continuing a trend also seen in elections in 2022 and 2023.
According to a tally by KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation, as of Dec. 3 most abortions are currently banned in 13 states, although Missouri voters opted to overturn that restriction.
Another type of legislation that emerged in 2024 was what proponents call a medical education bill. South Dakota passed the first such effort that would direct the state’s Department of Health to create a video explaining the state’s abortion regulations for health care professionals and the general public.
Alabama sparks IVF controversy
In March, Alabama’s Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed a law granting legal protection to in vitro fertilization clinics after a ruling by that state’s Supreme Court found that frozen embryos qualify as children under the state law’s wrongful death law. The ensuing controversy over that ruling prompted the law.
Meanwhile, Trump has pledged to implement universal coverage for IVF in his second term.
IVF is a form of fertility treatment opposed by the Catholic Church on the grounds that it separates procreation from sex and often involves the destruction of human embryos, among other concerns.
The ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court found that embryos were considered children under the terms of the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, a statute that allows parents of a deceased child to recover punitive damages for their child’s death, in response to appeals brought by couples whose embryos were destroyed in 2020 after being improperly removed from storage equipment. While the ruling itself was limited in scope, it was met with backlash, as it created complex legal questions about whether IVF treatments were permitted in the state. Multiple IVF providers in the state paused treatments after it was issued.
Trump distanced himself from the controversy, arguing Republicans should support IVF. He later made a campaign pledge that his administration would protect access to IVF but would have either the government or insurance companies cover the costly treatment. A Department of Health and Human Services fact sheet estimated that a single cycle of IVF can cost $15,000 to $20,000 and can exceed $30,000.
The 1987 document from the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith known as “Donum Vitae,” or “The Gift of Life,” states the church opposes IVF and related practices, including gestational surrogacy, in part because “the connection between in vitro fertilization and the voluntary destruction of human embryos occurs too often.”
Texas law making crossing border without authorization a state crime blocked
Federal courts in 2024 blocked Texas from enforcing its controversial law making it a state crime for unauthorized migrants to cross into Texas from Mexico.
The legislation, known as Senate Bill 4, is currently facing legal challenges, as federal law already makes it illegal to enter the U.S. without authorization. Most portions of a similar 2010 Arizona law were later struck down by the Supreme Court.
Supporters of the legislation argue it would deter unauthorized entry into the state by empowering its own law enforcement, while opponents argue the law is unconstitutional and inhumane, wading into a power reserved for federal authorities. Catholic organizations have opposed the law, arguing it was an inhumane response to issues at the border.
Expected SCOTUS ’25 ruling could impact over two dozen state laws on gender transitions for minors
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Dec. 4 in a case concerning a challenge to a Tennessee state law banning certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender. Taking up the case marked the high court’s first major step toward weighing in on the controversial issue.
Although it is not yet clear how the court will rule, or what the scope of that ruling will be, a ruling is expected before the end of the court’s term, typically in June. Its ruling could impact whether similar laws passed by at least 25 Republican-led states are ultimately enforced or overturned across the country.
Supporters of prohibitions on gender transition surgeries or hormonal treatments for minors who identify as transgender say such restrictions will prevent them from making irreversible decisions as children that they may later come to regret as adults. Critics of such bans argue that preventing those interventions could cause other harm to minors, such as mental health issues or physical self-harm.
In guidance on health care policy and practices released in March 2023, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine outlined the church’s opposition to interventions that “involve the use of surgical or chemical techniques that aim to exchange the sex characteristics of a patient’s body for those of the opposite sex or for simulations thereof.”
A 2022 study by the UCLA Williams Institute found that there are approximately 1.6 million people in the U.S. who identify as transgender, with nearly half of that population between the ages of 13 and 24.
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