Changes in abortion law around the country are setting off a series of local debates.

On Thursday, Missouri's Senate passed a bill to ban abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy without exceptions. The Missouri State House will now take up the measure. That comes within a day of Alabama's governor signing into law that is widely considered the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S.

Closer to home, Rhode Island's Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday rejected a bill thatwould have codified the right to an abortion in state law.

As restrictive abortion laws are enacted across the country, what does that signal about the future of abortion in America?

Nancy Gertner, retired federal judge, senior lecturer at Harvard Law School, and WBUR legal analyst. She tweets @ngertner.

Patrick Anderson, reporter for the Providence Journal. He tweets@PatrickAnderso_.

This segment aired on May 16, 2019.