Delaware has become the first US state since Donald Trump became president to ensure that abortion will remain legal, even if the US leader appoints judges who will rule against abortion rights.
Democratic Governor John Carney Jr signed into law a bill that removed restrictions on abortions from state law, making Delaware the eighth state to guarantee women the right to an abortion.
As a presidential candidate, Mr Trump vowed to nominate judges to the Supreme Court who would help overturn Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion under the Fourteenth Amendment.
“Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that’s really what’s going to be – that will happen,” Mr Trump said during that October debate.
“And that’ll happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court. I will say this: It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a determination.”
In January, less than two weeks after becoming president, Mr Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the highest court in the land. The Senate confirmed Mr Gorsuch in April, helping to cement a conservative majority on the nine-justice bench that could last for decades.
But the appointment of conservative judges to the Supreme Court does not guarantee the reversal of past decisions such as Roe v Wade.
In the meantime, Republican-controlled legislatures across the country are continuing their mission to roll back abortion rights.
The Republican governors of Texas and Missouri said this week that they would call their legislators back into special session to deal with anti-abortion legislation.
States including Iowa, Kentucky and Ohio have also recently passed bans on abortions after 20 weeks.
