Abortion is still legal on Guam, but it's up to the Guam Legislature to determine whether to criminalize it or not. That's the opinion of the attorney general in response to a query by senators in the wake of the Supreme Court reversal of the landmark Roe v. Wade case.

AG Leevin Camacho was responding to Sen. Mary Torres and Vice Speaker Tina Barnes. His first line states: "the Dobbs decision is clear...it is for the legislature to decide abortion regulation, not the judiciary or the executive branch."

The 7-page opinion memorandum contains the AG's legal analysis of the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe, and the subsidiary Dobbs decision, which basically returns purview over abortion back to state and territorial legislatures. The opinion also responds to the 1990 Guam law banning abortion that was overturned by the Guam District Court and concurred by a federal appeals court. The short answer as to whether the Roe reversal lifts the permanent injunction against the 1990 law is no. According to Camacho, that law, P.L. 20-134, violated the constitution and the Organic Act when it was passed and is therefore void at the onset.

In response, Torres issued a statement saying "the issue of abortion is a profound moral question that must be decided through a democratic process involving the public." The 1990 law called for a referendum that never took place. Torres said she will not support any measure to restrict or expand abortion procedures on Guam unless it has a referendum requirement. Sen. Telena Nelson has introduced a bill banning abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. But it does not contain a provision for a referendum.