Advocates for abortion rights are increasingly alarmed by a disturbing trend: several state lawmakers are introducing bills that would permit authorities to charge individuals seeking abortions with homicide.

The Center for Reproductive Rights reports that at least ten states—Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas—have proposed such legislation for the upcoming 2025 session. Most of these states have already enacted significant restrictions on abortion, either imposing near-total bans or limiting access to the first six weeks of pregnancy. Notably, Missouri and North Dakota are exceptions, as they recently had their nearly complete bans overturned.

These proposed laws are redefining embryos and fetuses as “unborn children” or “preborn children,” implying that they could be treated as homicide victims, which could enable law enforcement to prosecute individuals seeking abortions. Some of these bills also aim to remove existing legal protections that currently safeguard pregnant individuals from prosecution. Limited exceptions are mentioned, such as when the death of a preborn child occurs unintentionally during life-saving procedures intended to protect the mother’s life, provided reasonable efforts are made to save the preborn child whenever feasible.

Lizzy Hinkley, a senior legislative counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, has noted a concerning increase in such bills this year, describing the trend as “very, very alarming.” In many states proposing these laws, like South Carolina, there are provisions that could allow for the death penalty.

“This is a clear tactic from the anti-abortion playbook aimed at controlling and punishing pregnant individuals,” Hinkley states.

So far, three of these bills—in Indiana, North Dakota, and Oklahoma—have not advanced. Mary Ziegler, a professor specializing in abortion law at the University of California, Davis, believes that the likelihood of the remaining bills passing is “relatively low.” Such proposals often struggle to gain traction; even among conservatives and anti-abortion advocates, there is disagreement about penalizing those who seek abortions.

“However, I think these bills are more likely to gain traction now than they did in previous years, and their persistence is noteworthy,” Ziegler adds. She points out that the introduction of these bills has surged since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which effectively removed the constitutional right to abortion.

Historically, anti-abortion legislation has primarily targeted medical providers who offer abortion services. For instance, on March 17, the Texas attorney general announced the arrest of a midwife for allegedly conducting illegal abortions—the first such case in Texas since the Dobbs ruling. Additionally, a New York doctor faces a civil lawsuit in Texas and criminal charges in Louisiana for purportedly prescribing abortion pills via telemedicine to patients in those states.

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The recent bills also contain language about fetal personhood—a legal concept central to the reproductive rights debate that seeks to grant legal rights to embryos and fetuses. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order declaring that the U.S. government recognizes only “two sexes, male and female.” Critics from the abortion rights community cautioned that this order carries implications of fetal personhood by asserting that sex is assigned “at conception.”

Hinkley emphasizes that research shows an increase in the criminalization of pregnancy-related issues since the Dobbs ruling. A report from Pregnancy Justice, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of pregnant individuals, indicated that over 210 pregnant people faced criminal charges related to their pregnancies in the year following the Dobbs decision, marking the highest number recorded in a single year. Hinkley believes this report “foreshadowed what we are witnessing now.”

“Whether or not these bills succeed this year, they are likely to resurface next year,” Hinkley asserts. “Not long ago, the notion of a total abortion ban without exceptions for rape and incest seemed unthinkable. Yet, this is the reality facing pregnant individuals across the country today. Whether it’s this year, next year, or later, this trend is a troubling reflection of the ultimate goals of anti-abortion lawmakers and activists.”