State lawmakers filed hundreds of anti-abortion bills so far in 2015, study finds

More than 300 anti-abortion bills have been filed in state legislatures in the first quarter of 2015, a new study has found.

Anti-abortion bills have been filed in a total of 43 states so far this year, according to research released Thursday by the reproductive health nonprofit Guttmacher Institute.

More than a dozen states have passed anti-abortion bills in at least one chamber. Arizona, Idaho, West Virginia and Arkansas have all passed bills in both chambers.

{mosads}Many of the bills introduced either banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy or restricted the use of medical abortion, Guttmacher said.

The trend toward these two policies reflects “a disturbing combination of attempts to curtail access in both the early and later months of pregnancy,” Guttmacher wrote in a statement.

The laws could ultimately deprive women of options and leave them with “a greatly reduced time frame to get the care they need,” the organization said.

The fight for abortion restrictions has largely moved to the states, particularly after Republicans swept both the 2010 and 2012 elections.

A total of 31 states are led by Republican governors. In 24 of those states, Republicans also control the legislature.