# Pre (and maybe post) Roe v. Wade--leaving the state for an abortion

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-and-maybe-post-roe-v-wade-leaving-the-state-for-an-abortion/630518>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 5, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-and-maybe-post-roe-v-wade-leaving-the-state-for-an-abortion/630518 "2012-08-05T14:51:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 21

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**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\
**Post date:** [August 6, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-and-maybe-post-roe-v-wade-leaving-the-state-for-an-abortion/630518/21 "2012-08-06T22:51:38Z")

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> [@lawbuff](#):
>
> jt, do you live in Florida, I think I heard you say once?
> 
> In part:
> 
> 910.005 State criminal jurisdiction.—
> 
> (1) A person is subject to prosecution in this state for an offense that she or he commits, while either within or outside the state, by her or his own conduct or that of another for which the person is legally accountable, if:  
> (a) The offense is committed wholly or partly within the state;
> 
> (b) The conduct outside the state constitutes an attempt to commit an offense within the state;
> 
> (c) The conduct outside the state constitutes a conspiracy to commit an offense within the state, and an act in furtherance of the conspiracy occurs in the state;
> 
> (d) The conduct within the state constitutes an attempt or conspiracy to commit in another jurisdiction an offense under the laws of both this state and the other jurisdiction
> 
> 910.006  
> State special maritime criminal jurisdiction.
> 
> 910.01  
> Offenses committed partly in this state.
> 
> 910.02  
> Offense committed while in transit.
> 
> [Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes :-\>2012-\>Chapter 910 : Online Sunshine](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/STATUTES/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0900-0999/0910/0910ContentsIndex.html&StatuteYear=2012&Title=%2D%3E2012%2D%3EChapter%20910)

I used to live in Florida. Back in West Virginia now. But even under the FL law, 1 (a) fits nicely with the “partly” part. If a Florida resident left Florida to a different state to commit an act that was legal in the other state, but illegal in FL, they would have jurisdiction. Whether it’s getting an illegal abortion or gambling in Vegas, the mens rea of the crime would take place in Florida.

As far as the ex post facto, I’m not talking about punishing women who have abortions now or in the past. I’m assuming, for the purposes of this thread, that in 2022, there are a couple more conservatives on the Court and they strike down Roe v. Wade, say there is no constitutional right to abortion. States: have at it.

In 2023, Florida (or whatever state) passes a law saying that any of its residents who leave the state and procure an abortion in another state shall be guilty of a felony punishable by… With the extra-territorial precedent established by the federal government, I’m at a loss to see why a state couldn’t do it, if they could prove all of the elements.

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