Trigger law
A trigger law is a nickname for a law that is unenforceable, but may achieve enforceability if a key change in circumstances occurs.In the United States, nine states — Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Missouri, Tennessee, South Dakota and Utah — have trigger laws that would automatically ban abortion in the first and second trimesters if the landmark case Roe v. Wade were overturned. Illinois formerly had a trigger law, but repealed it in 2017. Also, nine states — Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wisconsin as well as the already mentioned Arkansas and Mississippi, still have their unenforced pre-Roe abortion bans on the lawbooks, which are not currently enforceable due to Roe, but could start being enforced if Roe were overturned.
