Abortion access in the U.S. following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade continues to diminish as trigger laws in Idaho, Tennessee, and Texas took effect Thursday, The Hill reports.
Abortion is now illegal in 11 states through "trigger" laws, legislation created to take effect immediately after Roe v. Wade was overturned, which happened in June, and is expected to be banned or restricted further in even more states.
Texas' trigger law will punish anyone who provides an abortion with potential life in prison and fines of up to $100,000. In Tennessee, providing an abortion or attempting to do so is a Class C felony. Doctors in the state can only make exceptions for cases where it is necessary to prevent death or serious injury to the mother.
In Idaho, physicians who perform abortions will face up to five years in prison, although a federal judge Wednesday limited the law in response to a lawsuit from the Biden administration, requiring abortions to be permitted in the case of medical emergencies that are not life-threatening.
Texas is the largest state to enact an abortion ban.
The District and County Attorneys Association in the state on Thursday raised concerns about the language concerning the $100,000 penalty.
"By requiring [the office of the Attorney General] to pursue a minimum six-figure civil penalty for the same conduct that potentially incurs a felony sentence of imprisonment and a criminal fine," the memo reads, "the legislature has created a legal framework that could prevent a criminal conviction for certain violations of the new anti-abortion 'trigger law' crime if any of those civil fines are collected by OAG."