Planned Parenthood unveils plan to protect abortion access

NEW YORK (AP) - Planned Parenthood has launched a campaign to protect access to abortion as widely as possible even if the Supreme Court, with the addition of conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, moves to curtail a woman's right to undergo the procedure.

Most of the states with the strongest abortion-rights policies are on the West Coast and in the Northeast. Because of that geography, the plan underscores the importance of Illinois, and envisions an aggressive expansion of Planned Parenthood services there.

Many anti-abortion activists hope that Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court might lead to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established a nationwide right to abortion. Such a reversal would mean states could set their own policies on abortion; at least 20 are considered likely to impose near-total bans.