liberal and conservative groups are girding for battle over abortion rights under president-elect donald trump, after nearly a decade in which the obama administration backstopped the rollback of those rights on the federal level. mr. trump has adopted the antiabortion rights movement<u+2019>s top priorities, vowing to nominate socially conservative supreme court justices, withhold federal funding from planned parenthood, and sign legislation banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. <u+201c>expectations are very high for this pro-life white house and pro-life congress,<u+201d> said mallory quigley, a spokeswoman for the susan b. anthony list, a nonprofit that opposes abortion. key appointments to mr. trump<u+2019>s cabinet also appear to be lining up with antiabortion rights groups. alabama sen. jeff sessions, picked to serve as u.s. attorney general, and georgia rep. tom price, one of the finalists for health and human services secretary, are both staunch abortion opponents. with republicans now holding a majority in both chambers of congress, the election of mr. trump is expected to reopen emotional debates in congress over when life begins, a woman<u+2019>s ability to make her own choices, and the appropriate role of government in family matters. while muted somewhat in washington, those fights have been going on in statehouses with growing intensity, creating a patchwork of differing services available to women. the mood in the pro-abortion rights community is grim. <u+201c>this is a dark time for women and families,<u+201d> said kaylie hanson long, spokeswoman for naral pro-choice america. <u+201c>the vision and policies donald trump has proposed for america are a clear and present danger to women.<u+201d> but activists across the political spectrum say sweeping, nationwide change is unlikely to happen overnight, while skirmishes over abortion policy outside of washington are expected to continue. november<u+2019>s election left republicans in control of both legislative chambers in 32 states, an all-time high for the party, according to the national conference of state legislatures. since the republican party took over a majority of legislative chambers in 2010, states have<u+00a0>enacted 334 measures restricting abortion, according to the guttmacher institute, which researches reproductive health care. that is more regulation of abortion than occurred in the 15 previous years, creating a chasm between red and blue states that could widen under continued gop dominance of state governments. in his first remarks about abortion since the election, mr. trump on cbs <u+2019>s 60 minutes was asked how women could get abortions if roe. v. wade, the supreme court decision legalizing most abortions, is overturned. <u+201c>yeah, well, they<u+2019>ll perhaps have to go, they<u+2019>ll have to go to another state,<u+201d> he said. yet, travel is already a requirement for many women seeking to terminate their pregnancies in conservative, rural parts of the country, where access to the procedure is limited by waiting periods and increased clinic regulations. the latest study by the guttmacher institute in 2011 found 38% of women live in counties with no abortion clinics. in the midwest and the south<u+2014>where mr. trump was the most popular<u+2014>the rates are 53% and 49%, respectively. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s already a very different view of abortion depending on where you<u+2019>re located,<u+201d> said elizabeth nash, guttmacher<u+2019>s senior state issues associate. <u+201c>the ground is laid in some states to move on very extreme abortion restrictions depending on how the federal constitution is interpreted.<u+201d> the road to overturning roe v. wade begins but doesn't end with mr. trump<u+2019>s nomination of a socially conservative judge to succeed the late antonin scalia. five current justices<u+2014>justice anthony kennedy and the four reliable liberals<u+2014>sided with abortion advocates in june and struck down new regulations on texas clinics. it is also unclear as to what court case could present the next challenge to roe v. wade. passing a ban on late abortions is also complicated, even with mr. trump in the white house. legislation outlawing abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy cleared the house last year but was blocked in the senate. the november election left republicans in control of the senate but two votes farther away from a filibuster-proof majority. republican lawmakers may have an easier path to cutting planned parenthood funding with mr. trump in the white house.<u+00a0>using a budget process that circumvents the procedural hurdles that require 60 votes in the senate, republicans passed legislation that would strip planned parenthood of federal funds, but it was vetoed this year by president barack obama. last week, the susan b. anthony list sent a letter to every member of congress urging them to defund planned parenthood through this <u+201c>proven pathway<u+2026>as soon as possible in 2017 and not a moment later.<u+201d> that plan could find support from mr. trump, who<u+2014>despite praising some of planned parenthood<u+2019>s health-care services, including providing birth control and mammograms to detect breast cancer<u+2014>said the organization shouldn<u+2019>t receive federal funds as long as it offers abortion. the so-called hyde amendment already bans using taxpayer funds to pay for most abortions, but planned parenthood is reimbursed by the federal government for providing other health-care services to medicaid patients. before he began running for president, and at times during his 2016 campaign, mr. trump seemed an unlikely champion for the antiabortion movement. the new york businessman described himself as <u+201c>very pro-choice<u+201d> in 1999. he said he was <u+201c>pro-life<u+201d> during his presidential bid but unnerved activists on both sides of the debate in march when he said women seeking abortions should be punished. hours later, he reversed that position. by the republican convention in july, mr. trump had locked down support from abortion opponents by releasing a list of known conservatives as potential supreme court justices and choosing a prominent abortion foe, indiana gov. mike pence, as his running mate. he gave his most impassioned remarks about abortion at the third and final debate<u+00a0>against mrs. clinton. in that debate, mr. trump said if he is able to appoint two or three supreme court justices, overturning roe v. wade <u+201c>will happen automatically in my opinion.<u+201d> he also said, <u+201c>if you go with what hillary is saying, in the ninth month, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth of the baby.<u+201d> mrs. clinton dismissed mr. trump<u+2019>s attack as <u+201c>scare rhetoric.<u+201d> but the remarks helped rally abortion opponents around his candidacy, ms. quigley said. <u+201c>one thing that became clear over the course of the campaign, culminating in the third debate, is that trump came to see abortion as the atrocity that it is,<u+201d> ms. quigley said. <u+201c>our critical goals are in reach.<u+201d> write to beth reinhard at beth.reinhard@wsj.com
donald trump<u+2019>s victory looks set to renew battle over abortion rights - wsj
beth reinhard