*LMP is the time since the last menstrual period began.
This color-coded map illustrates the current legal status of elective-specific abortion procedures in each of the individual states, U.S. territories, and federal district. A colored border indicates a more stringent restriction or ban that is blocked by legal injunction.
The legality of abortion in the United States and the various restrictions imposed on the procedure vary significantly, depending on the laws of each state or other jurisdiction, although there is no uniform federal law. Some states prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with few exceptions; others permit it up to a certain point in a woman's pregnancy, while some 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 before obtaining an abortion, mandatory waiting periods, and counseling requirements.
From 1973 to 2022, Supreme Court rulings in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) 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 and does not otherwise conflict with federal law. Prior to the Court's decision in Dobbs, many states enacted trigger laws 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.
Legal history
Abortion laws in the US prior to Roe.
Illegal
Legal in case of rape
Legal in case of danger to woman's health
Legal in case of danger to woman's health, rape or incest, or likely damaged fetus
Legal on request
Parental notification and consent laws in the US
Parental notification or consent not required
One parent must be informed beforehand
Both parents must be informed beforehand
One parent must consent beforehand
Both parents must consent beforehand
One parent must consent and be informed beforehand
Parental notification law currently enjoined
Parental consent law currently enjoined
Delaware's parental notification law only applies to minors under the age of 16. Illinois's parental notification law was repealed June 1, 2022. Massachusetts' parental consent law only applies to minors under the age of 16. South Carolina's law only apples to minors under 17.Mandatory waiting period laws in the US
No mandatory waiting period.
Waiting period law currently enjoined.
Waiting period of 18 hours.
Waiting period of 24 hours.
Waiting period of 48 hours.
Waiting period of 72 hours.
No abortion.
Fetal homicide laws in the fifty states in 2018. Also applies to certain offenses which the United States government has jurisdiction.
Homicide or murder.
Other crime against fetus.
Depends on age of fetus.
Assaulting mother.
No law on feticide.
Abortion counseling laws in the US
No mandatory counseling
Counseling in person, by phone, mail, and/or other
Counseling in person only
Counseling law enjoined
Mandatory ultrasound laws in the US
Mandatory. Must display image.
Mandatory. Must offer to display image.
Mandatory. Law unenforceable.
Not mandatory. If ultrasound is performed, must offer to display image.
Not mandatory. Must offer ultrasound.
Not mandatory.
Individual states have broad discretion to prohibit or regulate abortion. As a result, the legal status of abortion varies considerably from state to state. The Supreme Court removed this discretion and asserted the existence of a federal right to abortion in its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision; however, this ruling was overturned 49 years later by the Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022).[1]
...[N]or shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...[2]
—U.S. Const., amend. XIV, § 1, cl. 3
A number of states limit 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 Curtis Means born on July 5, 2020, in Birmingham, Alabama, at a gestational age of 21 weeks and one day.[3]
Moreover, due to the Hyde Amendment, many state health programs which poor women rely on for their health care do not cover abortions; according to the ACLU, only 17 states – including California, Illinois, and New York – offer, or require, such coverage, as of 2023.[4]
Current legal status of abortion by state, territory, or district
States with trigger laws or pre-Roe bans on abortion that made abortion illegal in the state following Roe v. Wade being overturned.
Trigger laws
Trigger laws and pre-Roe laws
Pre-Roe laws
In the aftermath of the Dobbs ruling, state legislation and court rulings determine most aspects of abortion access in the United States. The following sections outline the current status of abortion law in the various states and territories; references to weeks refer to the number of weeks since the pregnant woman's last menstrual period, or LMP, which is typically used as a measure of how long they have been pregnant.
Abortion is illegal in Alabama,[5] with exceptions to preserve the woman's life or physical health. There are no exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal abnormalities.[6][7]
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.[8]
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall stated that Alabama law would allow the state to prosecute those who helped organize or finance trips by Alabamians to other states, in order to receive abortions, even if abortion were legal in those states. In July 2023, two abortion advocacy groups filed lawsuits seeking to prevent such prosecutions.[9]
Abortion is legal in Alaska at all stages of pregnancy.
Alaska does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[10][11] In September 2024, an Alaska superior court judge struck down the requirement that only licensed physicians provide abortions, meaning that the procedure can now also be legally performed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants.[12]
Abortion in Arizona is legal until the point of fetal viability.[14][15] Patients must meet with a physician at least 24 hours before the procedure, and a licensed physician must perform the procedure. Minors under the age of 18 must receive parental consent.[16]
A total abortion ban was passed by the Arizona Territory legislature in 1864 that was invalidated by Roe. A 15-week ban trigger law was passed in Arizona in 2022. After the Dobbs decision was handed down later that year, there was confusion over which of the two laws should go into effect: Then-Governor Doug Ducey backed the 15-week ban, while then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich held that the older total ban should be operative. A December 2022 state appeals court ruling found that the 2022 law should take precedence,[17] but on April 9, 2024, the Republican-controlled Arizona Supreme Court ruled in Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes that the 1864 law could be enforced.[18] However, on May 1, the Arizona Legislature repealed the 1864 law, leaving the 15-week ban in place.[19] Legal maneuvering ensured that the legislature's repeal of the 1864 law would go into effect before the Supreme Court's removal of the injunction against it.[20] In 2024, Arizona's 15-week ban was superseded by the passage of Proposition 139 within the state's Constitution.
Governor of Arizona Katie Hobbs and state Attorney General Kris Mayes are both supporters of abortion rights, elected in 2022 as part of a nationwide backlash to the Dobbs decision. In July 2023, Hobbs issued an executive order stripping local prosecutors of their ability to file prosecutions over the 15-week ban, or (if it had been revived in court) the 1864 ban, and assigning that power to Mayes, who, in turn, stated that she had no intention of ever filing such prosecutions.[21][22]
Abortion is illegal in Arkansas,[24] with an exception for abortions necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman; there are no exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal abnormalities.[25][26]
Doctors determined to have performed an abortion face up to 10 years in prison, and fines up to $100,000.[27]
Abortion is legal in California up to the point of fetal viability, or after that if necessary to preserve the life or health (including mental health) of the pregnant woman.
Nurse-midwives and other non-physician qualified medical personnel with proper training may perform abortion procedures early in pregnancy. California does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[16] In November 2022, California voters passed Proposition 1, enshrining women's reproductive rights, including the right to legal abortion and contraception, in the state constitution.[28]
Abortion is legal in Colorado at all stages of pregnancy. Minors' parents or legal guardians must receive notice before the procedure.[16]
In 2008, Kristine and Michael Burton of Colorado for Equal Rights proposed Colorado Amendment 48, an initiative to amend the definition of a person to "any human being from the moment of fertilization".[29][30] On November 4, 2008, the initiative was turned down by 73.2 percent of the voters.[31]
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".[32]
2024 Colorado Amendment 79 appeared on the ballot in November 2024. The amendment was approved, explicitly conferring the right to abortion in the Colorado state constitution.[33][34]
Abortion is legal in Connecticut up to the point of fetal viability, or after that if necessary to preserve the life or health (including mental health) of the pregnant woman.[35][36] Connecticut does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[37]
The 1821 abortion law of Connecticut was the first known law passed in the United States to restrict abortion. Although this law did not completely outlaw abortions, it placed heavier restrictions, as it prevented people from attempting or receiving abortions, which was generally through the consumption of poison, during the first four months of a pregnancy.[38]
Abortion is legal in the District of Columbia at all stages of pregnancy. The District of Columbia does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[39]
A previous statute making abortion a criminal offense in the District was repealed in 2004. The consequence of this repeal is that abortion is completely unregulated in the District throughout the period of pregnancy.
Abortion is legal in Delaware up to the point of fetal viability. Parental notification is required for minors under the age of 16.[40]
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 26. This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling.
Abortion is illegal after 6 weeks in Florida,[41] with exceptions for rape, incest, and human trafficking (up to 15 weeks), fetal abnormalities (before the third trimester), and, throughout pregnancy, if the pregnant woman's life is in danger. Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 18.[42]
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.
There is a privacy clause in the Constitution of Florida, and the Supreme Court of Florida had in 1989 ruled that it protected a right to abortion in the state. The Florida Legislature outlawed abortion after 15 weeks in 2022, and the court declined to stay that law as challenges to it made their way through the Florida legal system. In 2023, the Florida Legislature passed a "heartbeat bill" banning abortion at 6 weeks, but the law had a trigger provision, preventing it from going into effect unless the Florida Supreme Court first ruled in favor of the 15-week ban. The Court did so on April 1, 2024,[43][44] and the 6-week ban took effect on May 1, 2024.[43]
On April 1, 2024, the Court approved Amendment 4, an initiative that appeared on the 2024 ballot that, if passed, would have allowed abortion up to the point of fetal viability.[45] The amendment failed to reach the 60% threshold needed to pass, garnering 57% of the vote.[46]
Abortion is illegal in Georgia after 5 or 6 weeks[47] from LMP (on average, 1 to 2 weeks after a missed period), not counting a 24-hour waiting period. Parental notification is required for minors under the age of 18.[48]
Georgia passed an abortion law in 2019 that prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually six weeks following the last menstrual period.[6][49] Enforcement of the law was blocked by a federal judge in that year,[50] but it was reinstated after the Dobbs ruling.
A court challenge was filed based on the premise that the law violated the U.S. Constitution when it was passed because it was passed before Dobbs; this was rejected by the Supreme Court of Georgia in 2023, but the court sent the case back to a lower court to determine whether the law violated the Constitution of Georgia. On September 30, 2024, Fulton Superior Judge Robert McBurney issued a ruling finding that the state constitution protects a right to privacy, and that access to abortion before fetal viability is part of that right. The ruling struck down the law, though a spokesperson for the Attorney General of Georgia said the state would appeal;[51][52][53] one week later, the 6-week abortion ban was provisionally restored by the Georgia Supreme Court, pending the resolution of the appeal.[54]
Abortion services are currently unavailable in Guam because there are no local clinicians who provide them.
Abortion is legal in Guam up to 13 weeks; up to 26 weeks in cases of rape, incest, or if "the child would be born with a grave physical or mental defect"; or at any time if a physician can demonstrate "substantial risk that continuance of the pregnancy would endanger the life of the mother, or would gravely impair the physical or mental health of the mother".[55]
However, there have been no physicians based in Guam who have provided abortions since the last provider retired in 2016. In January 2021, a court injunction blocked a law that required an in-person consultation before an abortion, which allowed doctors licensed to practice in Guam, but resident elsewhere, to prescribe abortion pills to Guam residents via telemedicine; two doctors in Hawaii did so,[56] but an appeals court lifted the injunction in August 2023.[57]
Abortion is legal in Hawaii up to the point of fetal viability, or after that if necessary to preserve the life or health of the pregnant woman. Hawaii does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[59]
As of 2017, there are 28 clinics in Hawaii that will perform abortions. After viability, an abortion is only allowed if the patient's life or health is in danger.[60]
Abortion is illegal in Idaho,[61] with exceptions for rape, incest, and to save the pregnant woman's life; there are no exceptions for fatal fetal abnormalities.[62][63]
Abortion is legal in Illinois up to the point of fetal viability, or after that if necessary to preserve the life or health (including mental health) of the pregnant woman.[64] Illinois does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[65]
In 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court recognized a right to abortion in the Illinois state constitution under the due process clause.[66][67]As of 2017[update], Illinois had 40 facilities that can perform abortions.[68] In 2019, the Illinois state legislature passed into law the Reproductive Health Act, which repealed all earlier state restrictions on abortion before viability, and codified reproductive rights into state law.[69]
Abortion is currently illegal in Indiana,[70] with exceptions for fatal fetal abnormalities, to preserve the life and physical health of the pregnant woman, or (before 10 weeks post-fertilization) in cases of rape or incest.[71][72]
Abortion in Iowa is illegal after 6 weeks of gestation,[73] with exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormalities, and the pregnant woman's life. Parental notification is required for minors under the age of 18.[74]
Abortion is legal in Kansas up to 22 weeks after the last menstrual period (20 weeks post-fertilization). Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 18.[75]
Kansas lawmakers approved sweeping anti-abortion legislation (HB 2253) on April 6, 2013,[76] that says life begins at fertilization, forbids abortion based on "gender", and bans Planned Parenthood from providing sex education in schools.[77] In 2015, Kansas became the first state to ban the dilation and evacuation procedure, a common second-trimester abortion procedure.[78] But the new law was later struck down by the Kansas Court of Appeals in January 2016, without ever having gone into effect.[79]
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 were 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.[80] A proposed constitutional amendment that would have superseded this ruling was decisively rejected by voters on August 2, 2022,[81] six weeks after Roe was overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
Abortion is illegal in Kentucky,[82][83] except when necessary to prevent the patient from dying, or to prevent the permanent impairment of a "life-sustaining organ". There are no exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal abnormalities.[6][84]
Performing an illegal abortion is a Class C felony, with imprisonment of 5 to 10 years, and fines of $1,000 to $10,000.[85]
The ACLU announced plans to sue the state in court, claiming that the state constitution implicitly recognizes abortion as a legal right.[86][87] On June 30, 2022, Jefferson CountyCircuit 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. This order temporarily allows both elective abortion providers, which are both located in Louisville, to temporarily resume elective abortions.[88] Both the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the Kentucky Supreme Court refused a request to dissolve the restraining order;[89][90] however, the trigger law banning abortions was reinstated on August 1, 2022.[91][92]
In November 2022, Kentucky voters rejected an amendment that would have denied any right to abortion in the state constitution.[93] On February 16, 2023, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that abortion providers lacked standing to challenge the state's abortion ban, but did not elaborate on whether or not the Kentucky Constitution secured abortion rights.[94]
Abortion is illegal in Louisiana,[95] except in cases of fetal abnormalities or when performed to save the woman's life. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.[27][6][96]
A lawsuit by Hope Medical Group for Women and Medical Students for Choice challenging the ban was denied on appeal by the Louisiana Supreme Court in August 2022.[97][98]
Abortion is legal in Maine, though it must be approved as necessary by a licensed physician after fetal viability.[99] Maine does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[100]
Physicians, physician's assistants, nurse practitioners, and other professional medical providers may perform the procedure.[101]
Abortion is legal in Massachusetts up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. After 24 weeks, abortions may only be performed if a licensed physician determines it to be medically necessary.[107] Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 16.[108]
In December 2020, the Massachusetts state legislature enshrined abortion rights into state law.[109]
Abortion is legal in Michigan, although a physician's approval is needed after fetal viability. Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 18.[110]
While the legal landscape around abortion in Michigan was unclear in the wake of the Dobbs decision due to various conflicting pre-Roe laws that were still on the books, in November 2022, Michigan voters passed a state constitutional amendment that explicitly added the right to abortion and contraception to the Michigan state constitution.[111]
Abortion is legal in Minnesota at all stages of pregnancy. In January 2023, the Minnesota state legislature passed a bill enshrining women's reproductive rights, including the right to legal abortion and contraception, into Minnesota statutes. The Minnesota Supreme Court had previously ruled in 1995 that the Minnesota state constitution conferred a right to abortion.[112] Minnesota also does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[113]
Abortion is illegal in Mississippi,[114] with exceptions when the pregnant person's life is in danger, as well as in rape cases. There are no exceptions for fatal fetal abnormalities.[115]
Attempted or completed abortion is punishable with a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.[116]
Abortion in Missouri is legal up to the point of fetal viability as a result of 2024 Missouri Amendment 3 taking effect on December 6, 2024, 30 days after the November 5, 2024, general election. Although it is legal, legal challenges are ongoing.[117][118][119] From 2022 to 2024, Missouri had a near-total abortion ban, with no exceptions provided for rape, incest, or fatal fetal abnormalities.[6][120][121]
Those who induced an illegal abortion would have faced felony charges, with up to 15 years in prison.[120] The law technically stated that it "protects any woman who receives an illegal abortion from being prosecuted in violation of the Act".[122] 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".[123] The near-total ban on abortions was challenged in court,[124] and ultimately invalidated through constitutional passage in 2024.
Amendment 3 was approved on the Missouri ballot in November 2024, legalizing abortion in the state up to the point of fetal viability.[125][126][119] A lawsuit filed in August 2024 by two Republican state legislators and an anti-abortion activist unsuccessfully challenged the initiative.[127]
Abortion is legal in Montana up to the point of fetal viability. A 2024 Montana Supreme Court decision established that minors do not need parental consent to have an abortion, overruling a state law.[128]
The Montana Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that abortion was a right implicitly granted by the state constitution.[129] Legislative initiatives were passed in hopes of challenging that ruling. The legislature passed a 20-week ban in 2021,[130] and in 2023 passed a ban on dilation and evacuation, the most common technique used in abortions after 15 weeks. Both laws were blocked by the courts pending a final ruling, and finally invalidated by the passage of 2024 Montana Initiative 128.[131]
Abortion is illegal in Nebraska after 12 weeks of pregnancy.[136] Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 18.[137]
In November 2024, two competing abortion-related referenda appeared on ballots in Nebraska: One would establish a "fundamental right" to abortion until fetal viability, and the other would mandate that "unborn children shall be protected from abortion in the second and third trimester", except in cases of rape, incest, or medical emergency. 2024 Nebraska Initiative 434 passed, and 2024 Nebraska Initiative 439 failed to pass, leaving the 12-week abortion ban in place.[138][139]
Abortion is legal in Nevada up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Nevada does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[140] Nevada is the only state in the country that criminalizes a woman performing a self-managed abortion by "any drug, medicine, or substance, or any instrument or other means" after the 24th week of pregnancy.[141][142]
On July 1, 2024, Nevada state officials formally certified a proposed amendment that would enshrine abortion access up until the point of fetal viability into the state constitution. The Nevada Right to Abortion Initiative was approved in 2024, and will appear again on the November 2026 ballot.[143]
Abortion is legal in New Jersey at all stages of pregnancy. New Jersey does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[145]
Abortion is legal in New Mexico at all stages of pregnancy. New Mexico does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[146]
Abortion is legal in New York up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. New York does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[147]
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 clinics in New York that perform abortions.[148] In 2019, New York codified abortions rights and reproductive freedoms 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.[149]
2024 New York Proposition 1 was on the ballot in November 2024, and passed. The amendment ensures that no one in New York state can be denied rights based on "ethnicity, national origin, age, and disability", or "sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health care and autonomy".[150] This expands the already existing Equal Protection Clause in the Constitution of New York which prohibits the denial of rights for a person based on "race, color, creed, or religion".[151][152]
Abortion is illegal in North Carolina after the 12th week of pregnancy.[153] In the case of rape or incest, abortion is legal through the 20th week of pregnancy. In the case of a "life-limiting" fetal abnormality, abortion is legal through the 24th week of pregnancy. If the pregnant woman's life is determined by a qualified physician to be at risk from the pregnancy, then abortion can be legally performed at any stage of pregnancy. Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 18, though a minor may obtain a judicial bypass that overrides this consent requirement.[154][155]
Abortion was formerly illegal in North Dakota, until Judge Bruce Romanick ruled that the state's abortion ban violated the Constitution of North Dakota's equality provisions.[156][157] The law technically made exceptions to save the life of the pregnant woman, or, until 6 weeks into a pregnancy, in cases of rape or incest.[158]
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade 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".[27] The ban was temporarily blocked by a court,[159] and permanently enjoined by Judge Romanick in 2024. Performing an abortion under the proposed ban was a Class C felony,[116] punishable by up to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.[160]
Before the Dobbs decision, the only abortion clinic operating in North Dakota was the Red River Women's Clinic, located in Fargo, which is immediately on the border with Minnesota. In light of the legal uncertainty after the decision, the clinic moved to Moorhead, Minnesota, just on the other side of the state line.[161] Although abortion has been decriminalized in North Dakota, there are no abortion providers currently operational within the state.[156]
Abortion is legal in Ohio up to fetal viability. After viability, abortion is only legal if, in the professional judgement of an attending physician, the abortion is necessary to protect the pregnant woman's life or health.[162] Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 18.[163]
On November 7, 2023, a majority of Ohio voters voted in favor of Issue 1, which ratified an amendment to the state constitution to establish a constitutional right to abortion up to the point of fetal viability. The constitutional amendment took effect on December 7, 2023.[164] As of 2024, the interaction between the new amendment and previously existing abortion restrictions has not been tested in court. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost believes that some restrictions that had been passed before the amendment took effect are still constitutional,[165] and abortion providers are not performing abortions after 22 weeks after last menstrual period in compliance with existing law, even though other states define viability as 24 weeks LMP. Legislative proposals to nullify the amendment by taking the power to enforce it out of the hands of state judges were rejected by state House Speaker Jason Stephens.[166]
Abortion is illegal in Oklahoma,[167][168] unless necessary to save the life of the pregnant person. There are no exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal abnormalities.[6]
In 2016, Oklahoma state legislators passed a bill to criminalize abortion for providers, potentially charging them with up to three years in prison.[169] On May 20, 2016, Governor Mary Fallin vetoed the bill before it could become law, citing its wording as too vague to withstand a legal challenge.[170]
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.[171]
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.[172][173] 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.[174][175]
On April 12, 2022, Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law SB 612,[168] a bill that banned abortion indefinitely, unless the life of the pregnant woman was at stake, with no exceptions to rape and incest.[6][176] The penalty for performing an abortion is two to five years imprisonment.[177]
Abortion is legal in Oregon at all stages of pregnancy.
In 2017, there were 20 facilities providing abortions in Oregon. As of January 2021, there are no major restrictions on abortion in the state, including no requirements for waiting period or parental consent for minors seeking abortions.[178]
Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 18.[179]
In 2024, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the state's Medicaid program was required to pay for abortion services for participating residents. The ruling stated that "once the government chooses to provide medical care for the indigent, including necessary care attendant to pregnancy for those women exercising their right to reproductive autonomy who decide to carry a pregnancy to term, the government is obligated to maintain neutrality, so as not to intrude upon the constitutional right to full reproductive autonomy, which includes the right to terminate a pregnancy".[180]
Abortion is legal in Puerto Rico.[181] In 1980, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ruled that abortion rights were protected by a clause in the commonwealth's constitution that guaranteed the right to intimacy.[182] Puerto Rico does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[183]
Abortion is legal in Rhode Island up to the point of fetal viability.
71% of residents reported support of passing laws to protect access to safe and legal abortion in 2018. There are some restrictions in Rhode Island, such as parental consent and clinic regulations in order to perform the procedure.[184]
Abortion is illegal in South Carolina after detection of a "fetal heartbeat",[185] up to 5 or 6 weeks from LMP (on average, 1 to 2 weeks after a missed period), not counting a 24-hour waiting period. Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 17.[186]
A 5-to-6-week abortion ban that had been passed before Dobbs as a trigger law was struck down in January 2023 by the South Carolina Supreme Court, which said it violated the state constitution.[187] A newly passed 5-to-6-week ban went in effect in August 2023, after the justice who wrote the opinion in the original case retired; the new law was judged constitutional by the state supreme court.[188][189][190][191]
Abortion is illegal in South Dakota, with exceptions to "preserve the life of the pregnant female", given "appropriate and reasonable medical judgement".[192] There are no exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal abnormalities.[6][84][193]
The ban was enacted as a trigger law in 2005. Under the law, anyone who induces an abortion is "guilty of a Class 6 felony",[193] with a maximum of two years imprisonment and $4,000 in fines.[194]
In November 2024, South Dakotans voted on Amendment G, which, if passed, would have amended the state constitution to create a right to abortion in the first two trimesters of pregnancy. The amendment failed to pass. [195][196]
Abortion is illegal in Tennessee,[197] with exceptions to terminate molar or ectopic pregnancies, to remove a miscarriage, to save the life of someone who is pregnant, or to "prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman". Doctors are permitted to use their "reasonable medical judgement, based upon the facts known to the physician at the time", to determine if a situation falls into one of these exceptions. There are no exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal abnormalities. The exceptions in the law were established in April 2023; previously, under a trigger law that went into effect after Dobbs, there were no exceptions to the state's abortion ban, though a doctor charged under the law could assert an affirmative defense that their actions were necessary to save their patient's life.[198] Anyone convicted of breaking the law could face 3 to 15 years in prison, as well as up to $10,000 in fines.[27]
Abortion is illegal in Texas,[199] except when necessary to save the pregnant woman's life. There are no exceptions for rape, incest, or fatal fetal abnormalities.[6][120][200]
The Roe v. Wade case, tried in Texas, stands at the center of years of national debate about the issue of abortion.[201]Henry Wade 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 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.[202] The legal challenge to the law eventually reached the Supreme Court in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (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 as 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.[203] 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 and Justice Stephen Breyer wrote dissenting opinions joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor that they would have granted an injunction on the law until a proper judicial review.[204][205]
On September 9, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland, the United States Department of Justice, sued the State of Texas over the Texas Act on the basis that "the law is invalid under the Supremacy Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment, is preempted by federal law, and violates the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity".[206] Garland further noted that the United States government has "an obligation to ensure that no state can deprive individuals of their constitutional rights".[207] The Complaint avers that Texas enacted the law "in open defiance of the Constitution".[208] 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.[208][207] The suit was met with controversy, with critics citing concerns over the suit's politicized nature and the possible infringements on civilian rights.[209][210]
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, Texas completely banned abortions, except when the pregnant woman's life is at risk.[6][120] 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.[116] 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.[211][212]
On March 7, 2023, five women who suffered serious pregnancy complications, and were denied abortions, sued the state of Texas over their near-total abortion ban, stating that the ban directly put their lives and health in danger.[213] The purpose of the lawsuit is to force the state to issue regulations clarifying the medical exception clause, rather than to overturn Texas's abortion ban entirely.[214]
In 2023, a number of local governments in Texas near the border of New Mexico passed ordinances that make it illegal to transport or to help transport someone through those jurisdictions for the purposes of seeking an abortion. The laws' enforcement mechanism is based on civil lawsuits, like the Texas Heartbeat Act, making them difficult to challenge in court.[215]
Abortion is de facto legal in Utah up to 18 weeks of pregnancy. A near-total trigger ban was passed by the state legislature in 2020; however, this law is being challenged in court by Planned Parenthood of Utah on the grounds that it violates the state constitution, which establishes a right to gender equality and a right to determine family composition. The law was enjoined from going into effect by a state trial court while the challenge to it was being heard, and the Utah Supreme Court upheld that injunction in 2024.[216]
Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 18.[217]
The currently enjoined abortion ban includes exceptions if the pregnant person's life is at risk, as well as in cases of lethal fetal abnormalities, severe brain abnormalities, rape, or incest.[6] It is a second-degree felony to perform illegal abortions under the law,[116] punishable by 1 to 15 years in prison, and a maximum possible fine of $10,000.[218]
Abortion is legal in Vermont at all stages of pregnancy. Vermont does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[219]
In November 2022, Vermont residents voted to amend the state's constitution, now explicitly conferring abortion rights.[220]
Abortion is legal in Virginia up to 25 weeks of pregnancy. Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 18.[221]
In 2020, Virginia governor, Ralph Northam 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 rights in 2020.[222]
Abortion is legal in the state of Washington up to the point of fetal viability. Washington does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.[223]
Abortion is illegal in West Virginia,[224] except if necessary to preserve the life or health of a pregnant woman, if the fetus has a fatal anomaly, or if (up to 14 weeks) the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. The near-total ban on abortions is currently being challenged in court.[225]
The legal status of abortion in Wisconsin is currently unresolved statewide. An initial July 2023 ruling by a Dane County trial judge found that an 1849 law previously considered a trigger ban does not apply to consensual abortions performed by medical staff.[226][227][228] Abortion providers in Milwaukee, Dane, and Sheboygan Counties offer abortions[229] up to 20 weeks.[230][231] Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 18.[232]
Providers in Wisconsin stopped offering abortion services in the aftermath of Dobbs due to the 1849 law. However, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a supporter of abortion rights, sued in state court to attempt to overturn the law; the Dane County ruling was the first in that case. Abortions are offered by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Dane, and Sheboygan Counties, whose district attorneys have stated that they will not file charges based on the 1849 ban. The organization initially did not resume abortions at its clinic in Sheboygan County, whose district attorney has stated that he believes the law still applies; however, they announced that abortion services would resume on December 28, 2023.[233] The case is expected to be ultimately decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court; Janet Protasiewicz, an abortion rights supporter and the newest justice on the court, was elected in 2023, in a contest in which abortion was a major subject of debate.[234][227]
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 that 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 not grounded in evidence-based practice.[235] 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 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.[236]
The case was appealed by the state's attorney; yet, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit 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.[237] 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.
Abortion is legal in Wyoming up to the point of fetal viability. A near total abortion ban was struck down by a Wyoming judge in November 2024.[238] Parental consent is required for minors under the age of 18.[239]
In 2022, state legislation attempted to make abortion illegal, except in cases of rape, incest, or harm to the health of the pregnant woman, but enforcement was blocked by the courts, pending a final decision on the law's constitutionality.[240] Opponents of the ban cited a provision of the state constitution, approved by a referendum in 2012 as part of the backlash against the Affordable Care Act, that guarantees Wyoming citizens the rights to make their own health care decisions.[241]
State table
Limits on abortion
This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: Percent of counties without provider is from 2017 and is no longer accurate for most states. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2022)
Abortion is not legal at any gestational age in states displayed with a pink background. Additional limitations are given regardless, as the legality of abortion may change.
Following the Dobbs decision which overturned Roe v. Wade, multiple states have held ballot initiatives to either protect abortion rights in the state or to add protections for abortion rights to the state constitution.
1 2 All states allow abortion to prevent the woman's imminent death, and some if the pregnancy is a less-immediate threat to their life. • Additional allowance for risk to the woman's physical health: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. • Allowance for risk to the woman's general health: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington. • Allowance for pregnancy due to rape or incest: Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, West Virginia, Utah, and Wyoming. • Allowance for lethal fetal abnormality: Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, South Carolina, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Utah. Note that these allowances may have a time limit, which may be as early as cardiac-cell activity (approximately 6 weeks LMP); others may have no limit. Different allowances may have different limits in the same state.
↑ Cardiac-cell activity is generally detectable in the 6th week LMP. Allowance beyond this limit is made, at minimum, for an immediate threat to the woman's life. In general, states that permit limited elective abortion may allow abortion beyond that limit for some or all of the reasons listed above.
↑ Typically, fetal viability begins in the 23rd or 24th week LMP.
↑ The second trimester is variously defined as through 27th or 28th week LMP. In Massachusetts, the law allows elective abortion up to 24 weeks from implantation, which is approx. 27 weeks LMP.
1 2 3 4 This state's constitution has been amended via referendum to reject any right to an abortion.
↑ This state's constitution is due to be amended via referendum to protect the right to an abortion in 2026.
Related Research Articles
In the United States, abortion is a divisive issue in politics and culture wars, though a majority of Americans support access to abortion. Abortion laws vary widely from state to state.
This is a timeline of reproductive rights legislation, a chronological list of laws and legal decisions affecting human reproductive rights. Reproductive rights are a sub-set of human rights pertaining to issues of reproduction and reproductive health. These rights may include some or all of the following: the right to legal or safe abortion, the right to birth control, the right to access quality reproductive healthcare, and the right to education and access in order to make reproductive choices free from coercion, discrimination, and violence. Reproductive rights may also include the right to receive education about contraception and sexually transmitted infections, and freedom from coerced sterilization, abortion, and contraception, and protection from practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM).
A six-week abortion ban, also called a "fetal heartbeat bill" by proponents, is a law in the United States which makes abortion illegal as early as six weeks gestational age, which is when proponents claim that a "fetal heartbeat" can be detected. Medical and reproductive health experts, including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, say that the reference to a fetal heartbeat is medically inaccurate and misleading, for a conceptus is not called a fetus until eight weeks after fertilization, as well as that at four weeks after fertilization, the embryo has no heart, only a group of cells which will become a heart. Medical professionals advise that a true fetal heartbeat cannot be detected until around 17 to 20 weeks of gestation when the chambers of the heart have become sufficiently developed.
Abortion in Georgia is illegal after detection of embryonic cardiac-cell activity, which typically begins in the fifth or sixth week after the onset of the last menstrual period (LMP), two to three weeks after implantation. Although this law was ruled unconstitutional by a Georgia superior court judge on September 30, 2024, it remains in effect while the state appeals the ruling.
Abortion in Missouri is legal up to the point of fetal viability as a result of 2024 Missouri Amendment 3 taking effect on December 6, 2024, 30 days after the November 5, 2024 general election. Although it is legal, legal challenges to allow access are ongoing.
Abortion in Arkansas is illegal except when it is necessary to save the life of the pregnant individual. Doctors determined to have performed an abortion face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $100,000.
Abortion in Colorado is legal at all stages of pregnancy. It is one of seven states without any term restrictions as to when a pregnancy can be terminated.
As of 2024, abortion is generally illegal in Indiana. It is only legal in cases involving fatal fetal abnormalities, to preserve the life and physical health of the mother, and in cases of rape or incest up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. Previously abortion in Indiana was legal up to 20 weeks; a near-total ban that was scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2023, was placed on hold due to further legal challenges, but is set to take place, after the Indiana Supreme Court denied an appeal by the ACLU, and once it certifies a previous ruling that an abortion ban doesn't violate the state constitution. In the wake of the 2022 Dobbs Supreme Court ruling, abortion in Indiana remained legal despite Indiana lawmakers voting in favor of a near-total abortion ban on August 5, 2022. Governor Eric Holcomb signed this bill into law the same day. The new law became effective on September 15, 2022. However, on September 22, 2022, Special Judge Kelsey B. Hanlon of the Monroe County Circuit Court granted a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the ban. Her ruling allows the state's previous abortion law, which allows abortions up to 20 weeks after fertilization with exceptions for rape and incest, to remain in effect.
Abortion in Michigan is legal throughout pregnancy. A state constitutional amendment to explicitly guarantee abortion rights was placed on the ballot in 2022 as Michigan Proposal 22–3; it passed with 57 percent of the vote, adding the right to abortion and contraceptive use to the Michigan Constitution. The amendment largely prevents the regulation of abortion before fetal viability, unless said regulations are to protect the individual seeking an abortion, and it also makes it unconstitutional to make laws restricting abortions which would protect the life and health, physical and/or mental, of the pregnant individual seeking abortion.
Abortion in Mississippi is illegal. The new law took effect on July 7, 2022, after Mississippi State Attorney General Lynn Fitch certified on June 27, the Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24 of that year. State Attorney General Lynn Fitch's certification made Mississippi's 2007 'trigger law' go into effect and ban all abortions in the state, “except in the case where necessary for the preservation of the mother's life or where the pregnancy was caused by rape".
Abortion in Nebraska is mostly illegal after the 12th week of pregnancy.
Abortion in Ohio is legal up to the point of fetal viability as a result of abortion rights being placed into the Ohio State Constitution by November 2023 Ohio Issue 1.
Abortion in South Carolina is illegal after detection of a "fetal heartbeat", usually around 6 weeks from the woman's last menstrual period, when many women are not yet aware that they are pregnant. On May 25, 2023, Governor Henry McMaster signed a 6-week ban, and it took effect immediately. The ban was blocked in court the next day but was reinstated by the South Carolina Supreme Court on August 23.
Abortion in Tennessee is illegal from fertilization except to "prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman". Tennessee is one of four states which prohibit abortion in their state constitution; alongside Alabama, Louisiana, and West Virginia.
Abortion in West Virginia is illegal except in cases of rape or incest, fatal fetal abnormalities, and when the mother’s life is at risk from a pregnancy.
Abortion in Maryland is legal at all stages of pregnancy. The first laws regulating abortion in the state were passed in 1867 and 1868, banning abortion except by a physician to "secure the safety of the mother." Abortion providers continued to operate both within and outside of the law. Legal enforcement became more strict from the 1940s through 60s, with numerous police raids on abortion providers. In 1968, Maryland passed a liberalized abortion law that clarified the wording of the previous law, allowing abortion in hospital settings in cases of rape, severe fetal deformity, or when life and health were endangered.
Abortion in Florida is generally illegal after six weeks from the woman's last menstrual period, This law came into effect in May 2024, being approved by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis following its passage in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate, with only Republican state legislators supporting. Additionally, pregnant women are generally required to make two visits to a medical facility 24 hours apart to be able to obtain an abortion, in a law approved by Republican Governor Rick Scott in 2015.
Abortion in Iowa is illegal after detection of embryonic cardiac-cell activity. Embryonic cardiac-cell activity can be detected from around six weeks after the pregnant individual's last menstrual period, when many people are not yet aware that they are pregnant. Exceptions for the abortion ban after detected embryonic cardiac-cell activity include some instances of rape, incest, fetal abnormalities and threats to the pregnant individual's life.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), returning to the federal and state legislatures the power to regulate any aspect of abortion not protected by federal statutory law.
Blackmon v. State of Tennessee is a court case heard by the Tennessee Twelfth Judicial District Court regarding medical exceptions to the state's abortion ban, specifically relating to pregnant persons with emergent health conditions. The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights on September 11, 2023, and a hearing was held April 4, 2024.
↑ Kelly, Caroline (October 1, 2019). "Federal judge blocks Georgia's controversial abortion ban". CNN. Retrieved October 1, 2019. The law, House Bill 481, is one of the nation's most restrictive measures, outlawing the procedure as early as six weeks into pregnancy, when a fetal heartbeat is detected. That can come before many women know they're pregnant.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
![Status of elective abortion in the United States
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Illegal, limited exceptions
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v
t
e
Legal, but no providers
Legal before cardiac-cell activity
Legal through 12th week LMP*
Legal through 15th week LMP* (1st trimester)
Legal through 18th week LMP*
Legal through 22nd week LMP* (5 months)
Legal before fetal viability
Legal through 24th week LMP* (5 1/2 months)
Legal through second trimester
Legal at any stage
*LMP is the time since the last menstrual period began.
This color-coded map illustrates the current legal status of elective-specific abortion procedures in each of the individual states, U.S. territories, and federal district. A colored border indicates a more stringent restriction or ban that is blocked by legal injunction. Gestational limits for elective abortion in the United States.svg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Gestational_limits_for_elective_abortion_in_the_United_States.svg/350px-Gestational_limits_for_elective_abortion_in_the_United_States.svg.png)
