State Bans on Abortion Throughout Pregnancy

December 5, 2024

The landscape of abortion access in the United States continues to shift rapidly in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion. Since then, many state legislatures have created new abortion restrictions and bans, and many have begun enforcing existing ones. Research has long indicated that abortion bans of all types have the greatest impact on people in marginalized groups. Individuals who face systemic racism and other forms of oppression may encounter compounding barriers to obtaining an abortion.

Many state laws provide some limited exceptions to total bans and bans based on gestational duration. These exceptions are often described as compromises, but they obscure the harm of abortion bans. Most exceptions are designed to be unworkable, containing vague and contradictory language and imposing cumbersome requirements.

The abortion restrictions detailed below represent some of the ways state laws and policies may prohibit or restrict a person’s access to abortion care. Guttmacher’s interactive map on state abortion policies and state legislation tracker contain additional information about current state abortion laws and restrictions on access.

Definitions

Gestational duration: An estimate of the length of time a person has been pregnant. This is typically defined as the number of weeks since the person’s last menstrual period (LMP), though some states define it as the number of weeks since conception. State legislation often uses gestational duration to define the arbitrary timelines of abortion bans and restrictions. Most state abortion statutes reference “probable gestational age,” which is typically determined by LMP; the weeks listed in the table below refer to LMP unless marked otherwise.

Viability: A nonmedical term used to describe the point at which a fetus can survive outside the uterus, which is generally determined to be between 24 and 26 weeks LMP. Many statutory bans define limits on abortion based on the concept of viability.

General health: Determined by a health care provider licensed to provide abortions and may include a pregnant person’s mental and emotional health.

Physical health: Applies only to the physical function of the patient’s body and may even be restricted to major bodily functions.

Lethal fetal anomaly: Fetal condition likely to be fatal before or shortly after birth.

Highlights

41 states have abortion bans in effect (Table 1) with only limited exceptions (Table 2).

13 states have a total abortion ban.
28 states have abortion bans based on gestational duration.
- 7 states ban abortion at or before 18 weeks’ gestation.
- 21 states ban abortion at some point after 18 weeks.

9 states and the District of Columbia do not restrict abortion on the basis of gestational duration.

Current Policy Status Table

Table 1. Total Abortion Bans and Bans Based on Gestational Duration Currently in Effect
Jurisdiction	Total ban	Bans in the first 18 weeks of pregnancy	Bans after 18 weeks of pregnancy	No ban or gestational limit
Alabama	X
Alaska				X
Arizona			Viability*
Arkansas	X
California			Viability
Colorado				X
Connecticut			Viability
Delaware			Viability
District of Columbia				X
Florida		6 weeks
Georgia		6 weeks
Hawaii			Viability
Idaho	X
Illinois			Viability
Indiana	X
Iowa		6 weeks
Kansas			22 weeks
Kentucky	X
Louisiana	X
Maine			Viability
Maryland				X
Massachusetts†			24 weeks
Michigan				X
Minnesota				X
Mississippi	X
Missouri	X
Montana			Viability
Nebraska		12 weeks
Nevada			24 weeks (since fertilization)
New Hampshire			24 weeks
New Jersey				X
New Mexico				X
New York			24 weeks or viability (since commencement of pregnancy)
North Carolina		12 weeks
North Dakota‡			Viability
Ohio			20 weeks (since fertilization)
Oklahoma	X
Oregon				X
Pennsylvania			24 weeks
Rhode Island			Viability
South Carolina		6 weeks
South Dakota	X
Tennessee	X
Texas	X
Utah		18 weeks
Vermont				X
Virginia			3rd trimester
Washington			Viability
West Virginia	X
Wisconsin			20 weeks (since fertilization)
Wyoming			Viability
TOTAL	13	7	21	9 + DC

*Following November 2024 passage of a constitutional amendment establishing a right to abortion in Arizona, some abortion providers are offering services up to viability; the state’s attorney general has pledged not to enforce the current 15-week ban while litigation to overturn it continues.

†The statute in Massachusetts states that abortion is legal when “a pregnancy has existed for less than 24 weeks” and pregnancy is defined as “the presence of an implanted human embryo or fetus in the uterus.”

‡The total ban was repealed on September 26, 2024. No abortion providers currently exist in the state, and litigation around the ban is ongoing.

Table 2. Exceptions to Bans Based on Gestational Duration
Jurisdiction	Threat to the life of the pregnant person	Threat to the general health of the pregnant person	Threat to the physical health of the pregnant person	Pregnancy resulting from rape	Pregnancy resulting from incest	Diagnosis of lethal fetal anomaly
Alabama	X		X
Arizona	X	X
Arkansas	X
California	X	X
Connecticut	X	X
Delaware	X	X				X
Florida	X		X	X (through 15 weeks)	X (through 15 weeks)	X (until 3rd trimester)
Georgia	X		X	X (through 20 weeks since fertilization)	X (through 20 weeks since fertilization)	X
Hawaii	X	X
Idaho	X			X (through first trimester)	X (through first trimester)
Illinois	X	X
Indiana	X (through 20 weeks since fertilization)		X (through 20 weeks since fertilization)	X (through 10 weeks since fertilization)	X (through 10 weeks since fertilization)	X (through 20 weeks since fertilization)
Iowa†	X		X	X (through 20 weeks since fertilization)	X (through 20 weeks since fertilization)	X (through 20 weeks since fertilization)
Kansas	X		X
Kentucky	X		X
Louisiana	X		X			X
Maine*	X
Massachusetts	X	X				X
Mississippi	X			X
Missouri	X		X
Montana	X		X
Nebraska	X		X	X	X
Nevada	X	X
New Hampshire	X		X			X
New York	X	X
North Carolina	X		X	X (through 20 weeks)	X (through 20 weeks)	X (through 24 weeks)
North Dakota	X		X
Ohio	X		X
Oklahoma	X
Pennsylvania	X		X
Rhode Island	X	X
South Carolina	X		X	X (through 12 weeks since conception)	X (through 12 weeks since conception)	X
South Dakota	X
Tennessee	X		X
Texas	X		X
Utah	X		X			X
Virginia	X	X
Washington	X	X
West Virginia	X		X	X (through 8 weeks since fertilization for adults, 14 weeks since fertilization for minors)	X (through 8 weeks since fertilization for adults, 14 weeks since fertilization for minors)	X
Wisconsin	X		X
Wyoming	X	X
TOTAL	41	13	22	10	9	12

Notes: Table includes only those states with current policies relevant to this topic. The inclusion of an exception in a policy banning abortion does not ensure there will be a provider available or willing to perform the procedure. The exceptions listed are for abortion bans that are in effect. Gestational duration limits that differ from the overall limit are noted and are in LMP unless otherwise stated.

*Maine allows for abortion after viability when a physician deems it necessary.

†In Iowa, the rape and incest exceptions require sexual assault survivors to report the incident to law enforcement or a health agency within 45 days and survivors of incest to report the assault within 140 days.

State Bans on Abortion Throughout Pregnancy

Definitions

Table 1. Total Abortion Bans and Bans Based on Gestational Duration Currently in Effect

Table 2. Exceptions to Bans Based on Gestational Duration