Behind the wave of state abortion bans, there are a lot of men

• 84% of lawmakers who sponsored state "trigger laws" banning abortion are men.
• The laws had zero women sponsors in four states; 12 of the 13 governors who signed them into law are men.

This story is part of an investigative series from Insider examining the demise of abortion rights in so-called "trigger law" states. It was originally published on May 10, 45 days before the Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that abortion is no longer a constitutionally protected right. Read all the stories from "The First 13" here.

What does it take to dismantle nearly 50 years of abortion rights for women? Hundreds of powerful men.

A look at the players behind a likely imminent wave of abortion bans reveals a stark lack of gender diversity that extends beyond the mostly male Supreme Court justices expected to strike down Roe v. Wade and the 91% male US senators who voted to confirm them.

A total of 444 state legislators served as lead sponsor or cosponsor of abortion bans in 13 states that take effect as soon as the high court overturns the landmark decision. They're predominantly men, too — 84%.

In fact, four of these so-called "trigger laws" — in Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, and Oklahoma — had zero women sponsors or co-sponsors. Of the 13 governors who signed them into law, 12 are Republican men. Yet the language in these laws specifically targets women.

The vast majority of political players behind these bans were also Republicans, including 89% of bill sponsors. All of the anti-Roe justices were nominated by Republican men and 94% of the senators who voted to confirm the justices were Republican.

Correction: An earlier version of this interactive misidentified some sponsors of Tennessee's trigger law; it has been corrected.

Jenny Chang-Rodriguez, Alex Ford, Marianne Ayala, and Shayanne Gal contributed to this story.