The legality of
abortion in the United States
Abortion in the United States and its territories is a divisive issue in American politics and culture wars, with widely different abortion laws in U.S. states. Since 1976, the Republican Party has generally sought to restrict abortion acc ...
and the various restrictions imposed on the procedure vary significantly depending on the laws of each state or other jurisdiction. Some states prohibit abortion at all stages of
pregnancy
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Pregnancy usually occur ...
with few exceptions, others permit it up to a certain point in a woman's pregnancy, while others allow abortion throughout a woman's pregnancy. In states where abortion is legal, several classes of restrictions on the procedure may exist, such as parental consent or notification laws, requirements that patients be shown an
ultrasound
Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hear it. This limit varies ...
before obtaining an abortion, mandatory waiting periods, and counseling requirements. Abortion laws tend to be the most strict in the
Southern United States
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
and the most lenient in the
Northeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
and
Western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...
.
From 1973 to 2022,
Supreme Court rulings in ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' (1973) and ''
Planned Parenthood v. Casey'' (1992), respectively, created and maintained federal protections for a pregnant woman's right to get an abortion, ensuring that states could not ban abortion prior to the point at which a fetus may be deemed
viable. However, ''Roe'' and ''Casey'' were overturned by ''
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'' (2022), and states may now impose any regulation on abortion, provided it satisfies
rational basis review
In U.S. constitutional law, rational basis review is the normal standard of review that courts apply when considering constitutional questions, including due process or equal protection questions under the Fifth Amendment or Fourteenth Amendme ...
and does not otherwise conflict with federal law. Prior to the Court’s decision in ''Dobbs'', many states enacted
trigger law
A trigger law is a law that is unenforceable but may achieve enforceability if a key change in circumstances occurs.
United States Abortion
In the United States, thirteen states, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, N ...
s to ban abortion should ''Roe'' be overturned. Additionally, several states either have enacted or are in the process of enacting stricter abortion laws following ''Dobbs'', and some have resumed enforcement of laws in effect prior to 1973. While such laws are no longer considered to violate the
United States Constitution, they continue to face some legal challenges in state courts.
Current legal status nationwide
Individual states have broad discretion to prohibit or regulate
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
and the legal position varies considerably from state to state. The
Supreme Court had removed this discretion, and created a federal right to abortion, with the 1973 ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' judgement, but this ruling was reversed 49 years later by the Supreme Court's ruling in the 2022 ''
Dobbs v. Jackson'' case. States have passed laws to restrict late-term abortions, require parental notification for minors, and mandate the disclosure of abortion risk information to patients prior to the procedure. Currently, legislatures in 22 states state they would move to ban or further restrict abortion laws throughout the U.S.
The key deliberated article of the US Constitution is the
Fourteenth Amendment, which states that:
The official report of the US Senate Judiciary Committee, issued in 1983 after extensive hearings on the
Human Life Amendment
The Human Life Amendment is the name of multiple proposals to amend the United States Constitution that would have the effect of overturning the Supreme Court 1973 decision ''Roe v. Wade'', which ruled that prohibitions against abortion were uncon ...
(proposed by Senators
Orrin Hatch
Orrin Grant Hatch (March 22, 1934 – April 23, 2022) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Utah from 1977 to 2019. Hatch's 42-year Senate tenure made him the longest-serving Republican U.S. senato ...
and
Thomas Eagleton
Thomas Francis Eagleton (September 4, 1929 – March 4, 2007) was an American lawyer serving as a United States senator from Missouri, from 1968 to 1987. He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. H ...
), stated:
A number of states limit elective abortions to a maximum number of weeks into pregnancy, usually prior to when the fetus could survive if removed from the womb. For comparative purposes, the youngest child thought to have survived a premature birth in the United States was
Amillia Taylor (born on October 24, 2006, in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, at 21 weeks and 6 days gestational age, approx. 153 days vs. possibly expected gestational period of 40 weeks, approx. 280 days).
Compared to other developed countries, the procedure is more available in the United States in terms of how late the abortion can legally be performed. However, in terms of other aspects such as government funding, privacy for non-adults, or geographical access, some US states are far more restrictive. In most European countries abortion-on-demand is allowed only during the first trimester, with abortions during later stages of pregnancy allowed only for specific reasons (e.g. physical or mental health reasons, risk of birth defects, if the woman was raped etc.). The reasons that can be invoked by a woman seeking an abortion after the first trimester vary by country, for instance, some countries, such as Denmark, provide a wide range of reasons, including social and economic ones.
There are no national laws or restrictions regulating abortion in Canada, although each individual province sets its own guidelines. In Australia, the
law on abortion varies by state/territory. In many countries, abortion has been legalized by respective parliaments, while in the US abortion has previously been deemed a constitutional
right
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...
by the Supreme Court, although this was reversed in 2022.
Because of the split between federal and state law, legal access to abortion continues to vary somewhat by state. Geographic availability, however, varies dramatically, with 87 percent of US counties having no
abortion provider. Moreover, due to the
Hyde Amendment
In U.S. politics, the Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of federal funds to pay for abortion, except to save the life of the woman, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape. Before the Hyde Amendment took effect in ...
, many
state health programs which poor women rely on for their health care do not cover abortions; currently only 17 states (including
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
and
New York) offer or require such coverage.
The 1992 case of ''
Planned Parenthood v. Casey'' overturned ''Roe's'' strict trimester formula, but reemphasized the right to abortion as grounded in the general sense of liberty and privacy protected under the
Due Process Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution:
Advancements in medical technology meant that a fetus might be considered viable, and thus have some basis of a right to life, at 22 or 23 weeks rather than at the 28 that was more common at the time ''Roe'' was decided. For this reason, the old trimester formula was ruled obsolete, with a new focus on viability of the fetus.
Since 1995, led by Congressional
Republicans, the
US House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
and
US Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and po ...
have moved several times to pass measures banning the procedure of
intact dilation and extraction
Intact dilation and extraction (D&X, IDX, or intact D&E) is a surgical procedure that removes an intact fetus from the uterus. The procedure is used both after miscarriages and for abortions in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
In U ...
, also commonly known as partial birth abortion. After several long and emotional debates on the issue, such measures passed twice by wide margins, but President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
veto
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
ed those bills in April 1996 and October 1997 respectively, on the grounds that they did not include health exceptions. Congressional supporters of the bill argued that a health exception would render the bill unenforceable, since the ''
Doe v. Bolton'' decision defined "health" in vague terms, justifying any motive for obtaining an abortion. Subsequent Congressional attempts at overriding the veto were unsuccessful. On October 2, 2003, with a vote of 281–142, the House again approved a measure banning the procedure, called the ''
''. Through this legislation, a doctor could face up to two years in prison and face civil lawsuits for performing such an abortion. A woman who undergoes the procedure cannot be prosecuted under the measure. The measure contains an exemption to allow the procedure if the woman's life is threatened.
On October 21, 2003, the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
passed the same bill by a vote of 64–34, with a number of Democrats joining in support. The bill was signed by President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on November 5, 2003, but a federal judge blocked its enforcement in several states just a few hours after it became public law. The Supreme Court upheld the nationwide ban on the procedure in the case ''
Gonzales v. Carhart'' on April 18, 2007. The 5–4 ruling said the ''Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act'' does not conflict with previous Court decisions regarding abortion. The decision marked the first time the court allowed a ban on any type of abortion since 1973. The swing vote, which came from moderate justice
Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was nominated to the court in 1987 by Presid ...
, was joined by Justices
Antonin Scalia,
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 1 ...
, and the two recent appointees,
Samuel Alito and Chief Justice
John Roberts
John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...
. ''Gonzales'' was eventually followed by ''
United States v. Texas'' and ''
Whole Women's Health v. Jackson'', and finally superseded by ''Dobbs v. Jackson''.
State regulatory initiatives regarding abortion
![US state abortion trigger laws](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/US_state_abortion_trigger_laws.svg)
The following states have or had initiatives regarding abortion. The
fetal heartbeat bill
A six-week abortion ban or early abortion ban, called a "heartbeat bill" or "fetal heartbeat bill" by proponents, is a form of abortion restriction legislation in the United States. These bans make abortion illegal as early as six weeks gestatio ...
legislative approach picked up momentum in 2018 and 2019.
Alabama
Following the Supreme Court overruling of ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' on June 24, 2022, abortion is illegal in Alabama.
Performing an abortion is a Class A felony with up to 99 years in prison, and attempted abortion is a Class C felony punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison, under a law passed in May 2019. The law was enjoined, but once
''Roe'' had been
overturned, the law came into effect. The law makes exceptions to save a woman's life or physical health, or if the fetus has a fatal fetal anomaly.
Abortion is a divisive issue in the state, with 37% of adults believing it should be legal in all or most cases and 58% believing it should be illegal in all or most cases. Alabama's political and overarching religious beliefs has presented Alabama residents with limited access to abortion services. As of 2021, only three clinics remain in Alabama, all of which are located in metropolitan areas of the state.
Alaska
As long as a licensed physician performs the procedure, abortion is legal in Alaska. People under the age of 17 must have parental consent.
In 2019, House Bill 178 was proposed, which would have banned abortion with no exceptions.
The Bill was withdrawn.
Arizona
Abortion is legal up to 15 weeks of pregnancy, though legal challenges to conflicting abortion laws continue. Patients must meet with a physician at least 24 hours before the procedure, and a licensed physician must perform the procedure. Minors must receive parental consent.
Arkansas
After the Supreme Court overturned ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' on June 24, 2022, a 2021 trigger law took effect in Arkanas that banned abortions.
The ban has an exception for abortions performed to save the life of the mother, though it is possible an exception will be made in rape and incest cases in the future.
Doctors determined to have performed an abortion face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $100,000.
California
Abortion is legal in California up to the point of
fetal viability
Fetal viability is the ability of a human fetus to survive outside the uterus. Medical viability is generally considered to be between 23 and 24 weeks gestational age. Viability depends upon factors such as birth weight, gestational age, and the av ...
. Nurse-midwives and other non-physician medical personnel with proper training may perform the procedure. Public universities are required by law to provide
Mifepristone
Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, is a medication typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy and manage early miscarriage. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days of ...
at no cost to students.
Colorado
Abortion is legal in Colorado. Minors' parents or legal guardians must receive notice before the procedure.
In 2008, Kristine and Michael Burton of
Colorado for Equal Rights proposed
Colorado Amendment 48
Colorado Amendment 48 was an overwhelmingly defeated initiative to amend the definition of a person to "any human being from the moment of fertilization".
The initiative was proposed jointly by Kristine Burton and Michael Burton of the now-defun ...
, an initiative to amend the definition of a person to "any human being from the moment of fertilization." On November 4, 2008, the initiative was turned down by 73.2 percent of the voters.
The state passed the Reproductive Health Equity Act into law in April 2022, which protects abortion rights and assures "every individual has a fundamental right to make decisions about the individual's reproductive health care, including the fundamental right to use or refuse contraception; a pregnant individual has a fundamental right to continue a pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion and to make decisions about how to exercise that right; and a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under the laws of the state."
Connecticut
The 1821 abortion law of Connecticut is the first known law passed in America to restrict abortion.
Although this law did not completely outlaw abortions, it placed heavier restrictions as it prevented women from attempting or receiving abortions, which was generally through the consumption of poison, during the first four months of a woman's pregnancy.
Delaware
Abortion in Delaware is legal up to fetal viability. 55% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. There was a therapeutic exceptions in the state's legislative ban on abortions by 1900. Informed consent laws were on the books by 2007. As of May 14, 2019, the state prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the ''Roe v. Wade'' ruling.
Florida
Until 2022, abortion in Florida was legal up to the 24th week of pregnancy. 56% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. An abortion ban with therapeutic exception was in place by 1900. Such laws were in place after the American Medical Association sought to criminalize abortion in 1857. By 2007, the state had a customary informed consent provision for abortions. By 2013, state Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law applied to medication induced abortions. Attempts to ban abortion took place in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Two fetal heartbeat bills were filed in the Florida Legislature in 2019, and the Florida Legislature outlawed abortion after 15 weeks in 2022.
Georgia
Georgia passed an abortion law on , which prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually six weeks following the last menstrual period.
The constitutionality of the law was challenged by the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
,
Planned Parenthood, and the
Center for Reproductive Rights
The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) is a global legal advocacy organization that seeks to advance reproductive rights, such as abortion. The organization's stated mission is to "use the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental huma ...
. In October 2019, the federal judge overseeing the case blocked enforcement of the ban, which was to take effect in January 2020, stating that the plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of winning the case.
Hawaii
As of 2017, there are 28 clinics in Hawaii that will perform abortions. As of January 2021, an abortion can be performed after viability if the patient's life or overall health is in danger.
Idaho
Illinois
Abortion is legal in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
up to 24 weeks. Parental consent is not required for minors, however a guardian over the age of 21 must be notified unless an exception is granted by a judge. , Illinois had 40 facilities that can perform abortions.
Indiana
, abortion in Indiana is legal as an abortion ban is temporarily blocked by courts. The ban makes abortion illegal except in cases of rape or incest before 10 weeks post-fertilization, for fatal fetal abnormalities, or to preserve the life and physical health of the mother. New 2021 laws put in place in the state require an ultrasound be shown to the patient at least 18 hours prior to the procedure, and the patient must receive state-mandated counseling. If the patient seeking an abortion is a minor, they must obtain parental consent before moving forward.
Iowa
Abortion is legal in Iowa up to 22 weeks.
On March 26, 2020, Governor
Kim Reynolds
Kimberly Kay Reynolds (née Strawn; born August 4, 1959) is an American politician serving as the 43rd governor of Iowa since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Reynolds served as the 46th lieutenant governor of Iowa from 2011 to 2017.
B ...
expanded upon previous
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
disaster proclamations to halt elective and non-essential surgeries. The following day her office asserted: "
heProclamation suspends all nonessential or elective surgeries and procedures until April 16th, that includes surgical abortion procedures".
Kansas
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
lawmakers approved sweeping anti-abortion legislation (HB 2253) on April 6, 2013, that says life begins at fertilization, forbids abortion based on gender and bans Planned Parenthood from providing sex education in schools.
In 2015, Kansas became the first state to ban the
dilation and evacuation
Dilation and evacuation (D&E) is the dilation of the cervix and surgical evacuation of the uterus (potentially including the fetus, placenta and other tissue) after the first trimester of pregnancy. It is a method of abortion as well as a common ...
procedure, a common second-trimester abortion procedure. But the new law was later struck down by the
Kansas Court of Appeals
The Kansas Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the U.S. state of Kansas.
History
The Kansas Legislature created the first Kansas Court of Appeals in 1895, to help the Kansas Supreme Court with an increasingly heavy casel ...
in January 2016 without ever having gone into effect.
In April 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision, and ruled that the right to abortion is inherent within
the state's constitution and bill of rights, such that even if ''Roe v. Wade'' is overturned and the federal protection of abortion rights is withdrawn, the right would still be allowed within Kansas, barring a change in the state constitution. After both Houses of the Kansas State Legislature passed
a constitutional amendment to overturn the Kansas Supreme Court's ruling, the proposed amendment was subject to a voter referendum. The referendum resulted in
a decisive rejection of the amendment (and thus an affirmation that the Kansas Constitution contains a right to an abortion) on August 2, 2022.
Kentucky
After the Supreme Court overturned ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' on June 24, 2022, a 2019 trigger law took effect in Kentucky that banned abortions.
The law makes all abortions illegal except when medically mandatory to prevent the patient from dying or getting a "life-sustaining organ" permanently impaired.
Performing an abortion is now a Class C felony, with imprisonment of 5 to 10 years and fines of $1,000 to $10,000.
The ACLU announced plans to sue the state in court, claiming that the state constitution recognizes abortion as a right. On June 30, 2022,
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Mitch Perry issued a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the state's abortion ban pending further hearings to determine if the ban violates the
Kentucky Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Kentucky, Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more. The later versions were adopted in 179 ...
. This order temporarily allows both elective abortion providers, which are both located in
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
, to temporarily resume elective abortions. Both the
Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky.
Th ...
and the
Kentucky Supreme Court
The Kentucky Supreme Court was created by a 1975 constitutional amendment and is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Prior to that the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The Kentucky Court of ...
refused a request to dissolve the restraining order.
Louisiana
On June 19, 2006, Governor
Kathleen Blanco
Kathleen Marie Blanco (née Babineaux; December 15, 1942 – August 18, 2019) was an American politician who served as the 54th Governor of Louisiana from January 2004 to January 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first and, ...
signed into law a trigger ban on most forms of abortion (unless the life of the mother was in danger or her health would be permanently damaged) once it passed the state legislature. Although she felt exclusions for rape or incest would have "been reasonable," she felt she should not veto based on those reasons. The
trigger law
A trigger law is a law that is unenforceable but may achieve enforceability if a key change in circumstances occurs.
United States Abortion
In the United States, thirteen states, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, N ...
would only go into effect if the United States Supreme Court reversed ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
''. The law would allow the prosecution of any person who performed or aided in an abortion. The penalties include up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000.
When the Supreme Court overturned ''Roe v. Wade'' on June 24, 2022, Louisiana immediately banned all abortions except those performed to save the mother's life or in the case of a fetal abnormality.
On June 27, in response to a lawsuit by Hope Medical Group for Women and Medical Students for Choice, a judge issued a temporary restraining order which allowed abortions to resume in the state.
Earlier in 2022, "Republicans in the state legislature considered legislation classifying abortion as a homicide," which would mean that women who obtained abortions could be charged with murder.
Maine
Abortion is legal up to the point of fetal viability in Maine. Physicians, physician's assistants, nurse practitioners, and other professional medical providers may perform the procedure.
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
In 2007, Mississippi implemented a trigger law that would ban abortions within 10 days following the overruling of ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'', which occurred on June 24, 2022.
The laws provides exceptions when the mother's life is in danger, as well as in rape cases.
Attempted or completed abortion is punishable with a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.
Missouri
After the Supreme Court overturned ''Roe v. Wade'' on June 24, 2022, Missouri banned abortions.
An exception is provided when the life of the mother is severely at risk.
Those who induce an abortion will face felony charges with up to 15 years in prison.
While doctors are only permitted to perform abortions in cases of medical emergency under Missouri law, Section 188.017, the law "protects any woman who receives an illegal abortion from being prosecuted in violation of the Act." In addition, providers who perform or induce "an abortion because of a medical emergency . . . shall have the burden of persuasion that the defense is more probably true than not."
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
New York is known in the U.S. as a reproductive sanctuary state. This means that abortion is legal and seen as health care provided by the state. There are approximately 252 facilities in New York that perform abortions. In 2019
New York codified abortions laws and protection in state law. New York state Senator
Alessandra Biaggi has proposed a bill that allows the option for taxpayers in New York to contribute to the abortion access fund on their tax forms. This essentially helps create more access to abortion in the state.
North Carolina
North Dakota
After the Supreme Court overturned ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' on June 24, 2022, North Dakota moved to ban "almost all abortions except in the case of rape, incest or where the mother’s life is at risk."
The ban will has been temporarily blocked by a court. Performing an abortion is a Class C felony,
punishable by up to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Ohio
Ohio has multiple layers of law which makes abortion illegal, resulting from multiple passed laws over the decades. The list below ranges from most strict to least.
ORC 2919.198 went into effect July 2019 that made abortion illegal after a "fetal heartbeat" can be detected, which is usually between five or six weeks after the first day of the woman's last menstrual period. No exceptions are made for rape, incest, or a fetus determined to have down syndrome. However, an exception is made for medical emergencies, defined as a "serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman."
Included in this law is a section called "immunity of pregnant woman," which overrides penalties for pregnant women who undertake an abortion after a "fetal heartbeat" has been detected. This release of penalties does not extend to physicians or doctors who administers the abortion past a detectable heartbeat.
According to ORC 2919.17, abortion may not be performed after viability, which, per ORC 2919.16, "means the stage of development of a human fetus at which in the determination of a physician, based on the particular facts of a woman's pregnancy that are known to the physician and in light of medical technology and information reasonably available to the physician, there is a realistic possibility of the maintaining and nourishing of a life outside of the womb with or without temporary artificial life-sustaining support." Viability tends to occur in the 24th week of pregnancy.
According to ORC 2919.201, abortion may not be performed if "the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child is twenty weeks or greater." Immunity is not provided in a separate section similar to ORC 2919.198.
Oklahoma
In 2016, Oklahoma state legislators passed a bill to criminalize abortion for providers, potentially charging them with up to three years in prison. On May 20, 2016, Governor
Mary Fallin
Mary Fallin (; née Copeland; born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014. She was the first and s ...
vetoed the bill before it could become law, citing its wording as too vague to withstand a legal challenge.
Governor
Kevin Stitt signed three bills in 2021 that introduced new restrictions on abortion. One bill would revoke a medical license for people who perform abortions, another would ban abortions if a heartbeat is detected, and the third would require board-certified OB-GYN doctors be the only ones who can perform abortions.
As of 2022, abortion is currently illegal in most cases in Oklahoma. Oklahoma's abortion ban took effect on May 25, 2022, when Governor Kevin Stitt signed HB 4327 into law, and abortion providers have ceased offering services in Oklahoma as of that date. HB 4327 is modeled after the
Texas Heartbeat Act and is enforced solely through civil lawsuits brought by private citizens, making it exceedingly difficult for abortion providers to challenge the constitutionality of the statute in court.
On April 12, 2022, Governor
Kevin Stitt signed into law a bill that banned abortion indefinitely, unless the life of the mother was at stake, with no exceptions to rape and incest.
The penalty for performing an abortion is two to five years imprisonment.
Oregon
Abortion is fully legal in Oregon. In 2017 there were 20 facilities providing abortions in Oregon. As of January 2021, they do not have any major restriction on abortion, including no waiting period or parental consent.
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Abortion is legal in
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
. 71% of residents reported support of passing laws to protect safe abortion in 2018. There are restrictions in Rhode Island such as parental consent and clinic regulations in order to perform the precedure.
South Carolina
South Dakota
After the Supreme Court overturned ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' on June 24, 2022, South Dakota banned abortions.
The trigger law for the ban had been enacted in 2005.
Under the new law, anyone who induces an abortion is "guilty of a Class 6 felony,"
with a maximum of two years imprisonment and $4,000 in fines. An exception is included to "preserve the life of the pregnant female," given "appropriate and reasonable medical judgment."
Tennessee
In 2019, Tennessee enacted a trigger law that would ban abortions 30 days after the overruling of ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
''.
The law is a total ban on abortions with no exceptions making all abortions illegal. A person charged with the crime of providing an abortion may assert an affirmative defense against the charge that the abortion was performed to save the life of the mother.
Anyone determined to have induced an abortion could face 3–15 years in prison, as well as up to $10,000 in fines.
Texas
The ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
'' case, tried in Texas, stands at the center of years of national debate about the issue of abortion.
Henry Wade
Henry Menasco Wade (November 11, 1914 – March 1, 2001) was an American lawyer who served as district attorney of Dallas County from 1951 to 1987. He participated in two notable U.S. court cases of the 20th century: the prosecution of Jack Ru ...
was serving as District Attorney of Dallas County at the time.
On August 29, 2014, US District
Judge Lee Yeakel struck down as unconstitutional two provisions of Texas' omnibus anti-abortion bill,
House Bill 2
The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, commonly known as House Bill 2 or HB2, was a North Carolina statute passed in March 2016 and signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory. The bill amended state law to preempt any anti-discrimination o ...
that was to come into effect on September 1. The regulation would have closed about a dozen abortion clinics, leaving only eight places in Texas to get a legal abortion, all located in major cities. Judge Lee Yeakel ruled that the state's regulation was unconstitutional and would have placed an undue burden on women, particularly on poor and rural women living in west Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. The legal challenge to the law eventually reached the Supreme Court in ''
Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt
''Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt'', 579 U.S. 582 (2016), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court decided on June 27, 2016. The Court ruled 5–3 that Texas cannot place restrictions on the delivery of abortion services that create a ...
'' (2016) which ruled that the law was unconstitutional, its burden of requiring abortion doctors to have admission privileges at a local hospital within 30 miles of the center to interfere with a woman's right to an abortion from ''Roe v. Wade''.
In May 2021, Texas lawmakers passed the
Texas Heartbeat Act, banning abortions as soon cardiac activity can be detected, typically as early as six weeks into pregnancy and often before women know they are pregnant. In order to avoid traditional constitutional challenges based on ''Roe v. Wade'', the law provides that any non-government employee or official, excepting sexual perpetrators who conceived the fetus, may sue anyone that performs or induces an abortion in violation of the statute, as well as anyone who "aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion, including paying for or reimbursing the costs of an abortion through insurance or otherwise." The lawsuit may be filed by people either with or without any vested interest. The law contains an exception for abortions performed to save the mother's life. The law was challenged in courts, though had yet to have a full formal hearing as its September 1, 2021, enactment date came due. Plaintiffs sought an order from the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the law from coming into effect, but the Court issued a denial of the order late on September 1, 2021, allowing the law to remain in effect. While unsigned, Chief Justice
John Roberts
John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...
and Justice
Stephen Breyer wrote dissenting opinions joined by Justices
Elena Kagan and
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
that they would have granted an injunction on the law until a proper judicial review.
On September 9, 2021, Attorney General
Merrick Garland
Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since March 2021 as the 86th United States attorney general. He previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of ...
, the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
sued the State of Texas over the Texas Act on the basis that "the law is invalid under the
Supremacy Clause
The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution of the United States ( Article VI, Clause 2) establishes that the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the "supreme Law of the Land", and thu ...
and the
Fourteenth Amendment, is preempted by federal law, and violates the doctrine of
intergovernmental immunity". Garland further noted that the United States government has “an obligation to ensure that no state can deprive individuals of their constitutional rights.”
The Complaint avers that Texas enacted the law "in open defiance of the Constitution".
[ (includes full text of lawsuit)] The relief requested from the U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas includes a declaration that the Texas Act is unconstitutional, and an injunction against state actors as well as any and all private individuals who may bring a SB 8 action.
The suit was met with controversy, with critics citing concerns over the suit's politicized nature and the possible infringements on civilian rights.
After the Supreme Court overturned ''Roe v. Wade'' on June 24, 2022, Texas banned abortions except when the mother's life is at risk.
Completed or attempted providing of abortion "will be charged with a first- or second-degree felony, and will be subject to a civil penalty of at least $100,000" for each abortion.
A first degree felony in Texas is punishable by 5 to 99 years in prison, while a second degree felony is punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison, with "fines of up to $10,000" being possible.
Utah
Abortion is legal in Utah for up to 18 weeks due to a ban at conception being temporarily blocked by courts. This ban includes exceptions if the mother's life is at risk, as well as in cases of lethal fetal abnormalities, severe brain abnormalities, rape, or incest.
It is a second-degree felony to perform it,
punishable by 1 to 15 years in prison, and a maximum possible fine of $10,000. On June 27, a Utah judge issued a 14-day restraining order to block enforcement of the law.
Vermont
Virginia
Abortion is legal up to 25 weeks. Some limitations include insurance coverage depending in cases of sexual assault or serious health conditions. Parental consent is also required for minors in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. In 2020, Virginia governor,
Ralph Northam
Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf").
The most common forms ...
signed laws that removed many of the restrictions on abortion that had been in place for decades. Virginia became the first state to codify new protections for abortion in 2020.
Washington
West Virginia
Abortion in West Virginia is banned unless necessarily to save the life or health of a pregnant woman, if the fetus has a fatal fetal anomaly, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape and reported prior to 11 weeks gestation.
Wisconsin
In 2013, Act 37 was passed into law, necessitating admitting privileges for all abortion providers within the state. Admitting privileges allow physicians the right to directly admit a patient to a nearby hospital. The state maintained this was necessary for women's health and safety, however, public health officials and the medical community – including the American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians, Wisconsin Medical Society, and
American Public Health Association – oppose these requirements as unnecessary and are not grounded in
evidence-based practice
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the idea that occupational practices ought to be based on scientific evidence. While seemingly obviously desirable, the proposal has been controversial, with some arguing that results may not specialize to indiv ...
. Not only are these privileges difficult for abortion physicians to obtain given the controversial nature of abortion, the Wisconsin law required admitting privileges to be obtained within one day of the law's passage. After
Governor Walker signed the bill into law, a federal district court judge in the
Western District of Wisconsin
The United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (in case citations, W.D. Wis.) is a federal court in the Seventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are a ...
immediately granted a preliminary injunction, preventing its implementation. A trial was held, and the court imposed a permanent injunction against the law, with the Judge noting that clinic closure was clearly the purpose of the law as there was only one day granted for physicians to obtain compliance. Further, the ruling found that abortion complications "are rare and are rarely dangerous", thus it seems to undermine the argument that this law is needed for women's health and safety.
The case was appealed by the state's attorney, yet the US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the earlier ruling, and the permanent injunction. The appeals court declared, as did the trial court judge, that the state had failed to demonstrate any obvious need for this legislation.
The state further appealed to the
Supreme Court, however, this appeal was rejected, maintaining the permanent injunction of the law. The rejection by the Supreme Court to hear the case came rather quickly after the ruling in the state of Texas' case also involving admitting privileges. The Supreme Court's ruling in ''
Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt'' found that the admitting privileges requirement created an undue burden for women, and thus interfered with the rights established in ''
Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
.''
Wyoming
Other polities
District of Columbia
The
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
has no law with respect to abortion. The previous statute making abortion a criminal offense was repealed in 2004. The consequence of this repeal is that abortion is completely unregulated in the District throughout the period of pregnancy.
American Samoa
Abortion was effectively illegal in
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...
before ''Roe'' was overturned.
Guam
Abortion is legal in
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, despite several attempts at restriction, but hasn't been available since 2016 when the last provider retired.
Northern Mariana Islands
Abortion was illegal in the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
since before ''Roe'' was overturned.
Puerto Rico
Abortion is legal in
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
without a gestational limit. A bill limiting abortions to 22 weeks passed the Senate in June 2022 and was sent to the House.
United States Virgin Islands
Abortion is legal to 24 weeks. Residents of the
British Virgin Islands
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = Territorial song
, song = " Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands"
, image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg
, map_caption =
, mapsize = 290px
, image_map2 = Bri ...
often travel to the
United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
for abortions.
State table
Limits on abortion
Abortion is illegal at any
gestational age
In obstetrics, gestational age is a measure of the age of a pregnancy which is taken from the beginning of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP), or the corresponding age of the gestation as estimated by a more accurate method if available. Su ...
in states displayed with a pink background. Additional limitations are given regardless, as the legality of abortion may change.
Protections of abortion
See also
*
Abortion statistics in the United States
*
Abortion by country
Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request, to regulation or restrictions of various kinds, to outright prohibition in all circumstances ...
*
Abortion and religion
*
Abortion debate
The abortion debate is a longstanding, ongoing controversy that touches on the moral, legal, medical, and religious aspects of induced abortion. In English-speaking countries, the debate most visibly polarizes around adherents of the self-describ ...
*
Heartbeat bill
A six-week abortion ban or early abortion ban, called a "heartbeat bill" or "fetal heartbeat bill" by proponents, is a form of abortion restriction legislation in the United States. These bans make abortion illegal as early as six weeks gestatio ...
*
Types of abortion restrictions in the United States
Abortion is the termination of human pregnancy, often performed in the first 28 weeks of pregnancy. In 1973, the United States Supreme Court in '' Roe v. Wade'' recognized a constitutional right to obtain an abortion without excessive government ...
Notes
References
External links
;Legal
Full Text of ''Roe v. Wade'' DecisionInteractive maps comparing US abortion restrictions by stateState Policies on Later-Term AbortionsGuttmacher Institute
The Guttmacher Institute is a research and policy NGO that aims to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. This research organization was started in 1968 and works to study, educate, and advance sexual and reproductive health ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abortion In The Us By State
History of women's rights in the United States
States of the United States-related lists
Reproductive rights in the United States
Law of the United States