Have laws limiting abortion gone as far as they can go?

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg believes the conservative movement to limit abortions has reached its peak.

“I think it’s gotten about as conservative as it will get,” she said of the country’s position on abortion in an interview published in October’s Elle magazine.

But far from peaking, pro-lifers see continual advances in the fight to end abortion.

“The pro-life movement, if anything, is getting younger,” said Casey Mattox, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom. “People no longer see abortion as a necessary evil but as an unnecessary one.”

Half of Americans believe abortion should be limited in some form, a May Gallup poll revealed. And of those who believe it should be limited, most agree abortion should be limited in the majority of circumstances.

But Ginsburg believes the pendulum will soon begin to swing toward abortion rights again “when we have a more functioning Congress.” Lawmakers have been unable to compensate for Supreme Court decisions that, according to Ginsburg, inhibit women’s rights, like the Hobby Lobby ruling. “The idea that an employer can force its religious beliefs on a workforce that’s diverse, and contraceptives are an essential part of women’s health care—I thought it was an easy case; I was quite disappointed,” she said.

Ginsburg, one of the court’s most liberal justices, said lawmakers could overturn the effect of the court’s rulings by drafting new legislation. But Congress is unlikely to undo the Hobby Lobby decision even if it were to become “more functioning,” Mattox said. The United States has a long history of supporting religious freedom in addition to the Constitutional limitations that played into the Hobby Lobby ruling, he said.

The success of pro-life legislation on the state level affirms the nation’s growing pro-life sentiment. Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, states have passed a variety of abortion regulations. Seventeen states prohibit abortions after some point in a woman’s pregnancy, 26 require post-counseling waiting periods, and 17 states limit public funding for abortions. More recently, states have enacted admitting privilege requirements designed to protect the health and safety of women seeking abortions.

But Ginsburg claims the pro-life movement has only succeeded at inhibiting abortion access for poor women. Those who can afford it simply travel to another state with fewer restrictions, she said. Kansas, North Dakota, and Tennessee each have high out-of-state abortion rates due to tightening restrictions in neighboring states. “When people wake up to that, then I think there won’t be any question about access for all women,” she said.

But many of the abortion regulations, like admitting privilege requirements or ambulatory surgery facility standards, have improved the health and safety standards at abortion facilities. Without these regulations, women, whether poor or wealthy, would be more at risk because “abortion providers put profit over women,” said Anna Franzonello, staff counsel with Americans United for Life. And many states with high out-of-state abortion rates are seeking to pass abortion regulations to keep their standards on-par with neighboring states. In Tennessee, a coalition of pro-life groups is promoting an amendment that will allow the state to pass more pro-life legislation.

And the significant decline in abortions since they became legal hasn’t resulted from lack of access, Mattox said. The abortion rate is naturally dropping due to fewer women seeking abortions. It’s now at its lowest level since 1973. It peaked in 1981 with nearly 30 out of every 1,000 women aged 15 to 40 having had an abortion. In 2011, that rate dropped by nearly half.

The availability of ultrasounds and accurate information about pregnancy has contributed to the waning desire for abortions. “People understand that an unborn child is a human being,” Mattox said. And, in the 40 years since Roe, the promises touted by the abortion industry, like the elimination of poverty, haven’t materialized.