Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court. What that implies for each state is as follows for abortion laws:
Currently, restrictions on access to abortion vary by gestational age and apply to 27 states. The bans range from six weeks to more than 24 weeks. With a few exceptions in another 14 states, abortion is virtually outlawed.
Continue reading to find out more about state-by-state abortion access status, places where abortion is allowed, places where it is prohibited, and nationwide abortion access debates.
Abortion Laws
Abortion Laws
How We Got Here: Abortion Laws
For almost 50 years, the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established a constitutional right to an abortion up until the fetus can survive outside the womb, governed the nation. However, the 50-year-old precedent was reversed by the Supreme Court in 2022 when it ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Since then, data shows a slight increase in abortions nationwide despite declines in states that have outlawed or severely limited the practice.
Abortion Laws
Abortion Laws
The Mississippi law that forbade abortions beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy was challenged in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. According to experts, this stood in stark contrast to the ruling in Roe by the Supreme Court, which held that states could not forbid abortions before fetal viability, which is generally understood to mean between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. However, in a significant reversal of history, the conservative majority on the high court sided with the state of Mississippi in a 6-3 ruling in June 2022, upholding its ban.
States were free to adopt their own positions on the contentious matter after the decision, and they did so by passing laws and holding elections. While legislators have worked to enact a number of new limitations and prohibitions, concerns regarding the legality of these measures have prevented many of them from going into force while they are being discussed in court. Because of the constantly changing legislative environment, access to abortion has been limited in some places due to sheer complexity.
Abortion Laws
Abortion Laws
Abortion Laws by State
- Here’s how the landscape of abortion stands in states as of June 28 2024, according to information from the Guttmacher Institute:
- STATE
- POLICY
- EXEMPTIONS
- DETAILS
- Alabama Banned Except in cases where “necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk to the unborn child’s mother.”
- Alaska: No Restriction
- Arizona 15 weeks In May, lawmakers repealed an 1864 law that banned nearly all abortions. Current law in the state instead bans abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. The Civil War-era law could have taken effect this summer, but a recent decision by the state Supreme Court gave Attorney General Kris Mayes more time to decide whether to take further legal action. Mayes’ office said the earliest the law can now take effect is Sept. 26.
- Arkansas Banned Except to “save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.”
- California Restricted at viability A constitutional amendment states that “the state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions.”
- Colorado No Restriction
- Connecticut Restricted at viability
- Delaware Restricted at viability
- District of Columbia, No Restriction
- Florida Six weeks Except for saving a woman’s life. Abortions for pregnancies involving rape or incest are allowed until 15 weeks of pregnancy, provided a woman has documentation such as a restraining order or police report. Health care workers are still prevented from performing an abortion on a nonviable pregnancy that they know may become deadly until it actually becomes deadly. Florida’s ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant, went into effect on May 1. However, Floridians will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution through a ballot measure in November.
- Georgia Fetal heartbeat, ~six weeks
- Hawaii Restricted at viability
- Idaho Banned Except in cases of rape or incest reported to law enforcement or when the procedure is “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” The Idaho Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that access to abortion is not a fundamental right in the state constitution.
- Illinois Restricted at viability
- Indiana Banned Limited exceptions for rape, incest, the health of the mother and for cases of lethal fetal anomalies.
- Iowa 22 weeks A law approved in July 2023 that would make most abortions illegal after about six weeks was temporarily blocked from being enforced until the state Supreme Court ruled in June 2024 that it could take effect. During an interim period, abortions remain allowed until 22 weeks.
- Kansas 22 weeks In an August 2022 statewide referendum, Kansans voted to uphold the right to an abortion.
- Kentucky Banned Except when necessary “to prevent the death or substantial risk of death due to a physical condition, or to prevent the serious, permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ of a pregnant woman.”
- Louisiana Banned Except in the case of medical emergency or if the pregnancy is “medically futile.”
- Maine Restricted at viability Except in cases where it is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother or when a physician believes it is medically necessary.
- Maryland No Restriction A constitutional amendment that would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution will go before voters in November 2024.
- Massachusetts 24 weeks
- Michigan No Restriction In 2022, voters enshrined the right to an abortion into the state constitution. The state’s “Reproductive Health Act” recently reduced barriers to abortion access, but laws like the 24-hour waiting period remain in effect.
- Minnesota No Restriction Except if they are performed in a hospital or if a physician says it is necessary for the life or health of the mother. As of January 2023, Minnesota law states that “every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about the individual’s own reproductive health” in the state.
- Mississippi Banned Except when “necessary for the preservation of the mother’s life or where the pregnancy was caused by rape” that was reported to law enforcement.
- Missouri Banned Except “in cases of medical emergency.”
- Montana 15 weeks Several laws passed in 2023 face legal challenges and are temporarily blocked as their legality is debated in court. In late February, a District Court ruling determined that three of the laws are unconstitutional, meaning they will not be enforced. Senate Bill 154: The right to privacy protected by the state constitution does not include the right to an abortion.
- Nebraska 12 weeks The current ban became law in 2023, and remains in effect despite ongoing legal battles. After a District Court judge sided against Planned Parenthood, an appeal elevated the case to the state Supreme Court, which heard arguments in March.
- Nevada 24 weeks A bill that would put protections for abortion into the state constitution was advanced by lawmakers in 2023. If lawmakers pass it again in 2025, and voters support the measure on the 2026 ballot, it will be added to the state constitution.
- New Hampshire 24 weeks
- New Jersey No Restriction
- New Mexico No Restriction
- New York No Restriction In 2024, voters will decide whether to ratify a state constitutional amendment that could add protections for reproductive rights.
- North Carolina 12 weeks Except when the life of the pregnant woman is in danger, exceptions for rape or incest through 20 weeks of pregnancy and exceptions for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies through 24 weeks. In September 2023, two provisions in the law were blocked from taking effect, one of which would effectively prohibit all medication abortions in early pregnancies.
- North Dakota Banned Except “to terminate a pregnancy that resulted from gross sexual imposition, sexual imposition, sexual abuse of a ward, or incest” or “to prevent the death of the pregnant female.”
- Ohio 22 weeks A law that would ban abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy is blocked by a preliminary injunction. Voters enshrined access to abortion into the state constitution in November 2023.
- Oklahoma Banned
- Except when necessary to preserve the life of the woman or if “the pregnancy is the result of rape, sexual assault, or incest that has been reported to law enforcement.”
- There has been legal debate over when an abortion should be considered “necessary” and who is allowed to make that call. In 2023, the state Supreme Court determined that abortion is legal if a physician says there is a “reasonable” chance that continuing the pregnancy will endanger the woman’s life, striking previous wording that required physicians to have “absolute certainty.”
- The state Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution protects the “inherent right of a pregnant woman to terminate a pregnancy when necessary to preserve her life.” The high court most recently reiterated that opinion in November.
- Oregon No Restriction
- Pennsylvania 24 weeks
- Rhode Island Restricted at viability
- South Carolina Fetal heartbeat, ~six weeks A “fetal heartbeat” bill bans most abortions at around six weeks of pregnancy.
- South Dakota Banned Except when “necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant female.”
- Tennessee Banned Except when “necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or to prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.” Doctors are allowed to use “reasonable medical judgment” to determine the medical necessity of an abortion to save the mother’s life.
- Texas Banned State law allows an abortion to save a mother’s life or prevent serious bodily impairment. A measure that took effect in September 2023 also states that providers who exercise “reasonable medical judgment” in response to ectopic pregnancies or the “previable premature rupture of membranes” can be protected from civil liability and medical board discipline. The Texas Supreme Court in May denied a challenge from women who’d experienced serious pregnancy complications and had sought clarity on legally permissible exceptions to the state’s ban, vacating a lower court’s injunction.
- Utah: 18 weeks The state has restricted abortions indirectly through a law that prevents abortion clinics from obtaining or renewing licenses to practice. The law was blocked amid legal challenges, but if it does take effect, no clinic will have an active license to operate. Planned Parenthood has argued that nearly all abortions in the state, 95%, are provided through specialized clinics.
- Vermont has no restrictions. Voters passed Proposal 5 in 2022 via a statewide referendum, which enshrines a right to reproductive freedom in the state’s constitution.
- Virginia Third trimester
- Washington Restricted at viability
- West Virginia Banned Exemptions for rape, incest and when medically necessary to save the life of the mother are applicable up to eight weeks for adults and up to 14 weeks for those under 18.
- Wisconsin 22 weeks
- Wyoming Restricted at viability
- Except “when necessary to preserve the woman from a serious risk of death or of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function,” or if the pregnancy is the result of incest or rape.
- states thatWhile the state constitution gives adults the right to “make health care decisions,” the “Life is a Human Right Act” passed in 2023 explicitly states that “abortion as defined in this act is not health care.” That determination is being challenged in court.
Abortion Laws
Abortion Laws
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Disclaimer: The opinions and suggestions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual analysts. These are not the opinions of HNN. For more, please consult with your doctor
