State legislatures move to restrict abortion

State legislatures are moving on a new set of bills seeking to restrict abortion, according to a reproductive rights group's new report.

Of the 916 measures related to reproductive rights introduced in state legislatures this year, 56 percent of them have sought to restrict abortion access, according to the pro-abortion rights group The Guttmacher Institute. Last year, only 38 percent of such bills moved to restrict abortion access. The bills seek to ban abortions after a certain gestation period, impose ultrasound requirements on women seeking abortions, and prevent private insurers from covering abortions, among other things. Legislators in 13 states introduced bills to require ultrasound procedures in the first three months of the year.

Perhaps the most controversial piece of legislation among the 15 bills passed thus far is the South Dakota bill that requires women to wait 72 hours before they can access an abortion, and also compels them to visit a pregnancy crisis center in the interim. Most pregnancy crisis centers are affiliated with religious groups. The state has only one abortion clinic.

The report says states aren't tackling non-abortion reproductive rights legislation, such as expanding insurance coverage for contraception or setting guidelines for sex education.

(South Dakota state Rep. Roger Hunt explains his bill requiring women to visit pregnancy crisis centers: AP.)