How new administration can further erode abortion rights

President-elect Donald Trump's second presidential term could herald a new wave of attacks on abortion access across the United States - with or without a Republican-controlled Congress.

Here's a closer look at the legal tools available to a future administration intent on curtailing the right - and how abortion rights defenders are preparing to fight back.

For advocates of abortion rights, the nightmare scenario is a Republican-controlled Congress enacting sweeping national restrictions, or an outright ban.

But even without that, Trump could "do a lot of damage to abortion access" through federal actions and judicial appointments, American University law professor Lewis Grossman said.

The Republican president-elect's Supreme Court picks were pivotal in dismantling decades of legal precedent protecting the national right to abortion.

While Trump has at times hinted at moderation during the 2024 campaign - even suggesting he might veto any anti-abortion "ban" that lands on his desk - some fear Project 2025 is the real battle plan.