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State Abortion Laws (U.S.)
Prior to 1973, abortion was a states issue; most abortions, in most states were illegal.
Page Summary:
Though individual states have retained some narrow, legal outlets for regulating abortion, Roe vs. Wade forbids them from outlawing abortion during the first trimester and binds them to an extremely broad "health" exception during the second and third trimester.
Ever since Roe v. Wade, abortion has been a federal issue. Should Roe be overturned in the future, abortion would not thereby be outlawed. It would simply be returned to the jurisdiction of the states. Prior to Roe, most abortions were illegal in most states. California and Colorado (in 1967) were the first states to legalize abortion in selective circumstances (rape, incest, severe handicap or pregnancies that threatened the life of the mother). In 1970, New York, Alaska, Washington and Hawaii became the only states to offer an "unrestricted" abortion policy similar to the one established through Roe v. Wade. Ever since Roe, the judgment of which was handed down on January 22, 1973, states have been forbidden from outlawing abortion during the first trimester and are bound to offer mental and physical health exceptions during the second and third trimester. Nevertheless, Roe does grant states some narrow, legal outlets for regulating abortion.
Parental Notification and Parental Consent laws exist in many states as a means of limiting abortion among minors. Parental Notification laws require that a parent is notified before their minor daughter can receive an abortion, and Parental Consent laws require that the parent consent to their minor daughter's abortion. Planned Parenthood reports that currently 35 states actively require Parental Notification or Consent. Nine states: Alaska, California, Idaho, New Mexico, Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire and New Jersey, have Parental Notification laws that are not being enforced, and six states, Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington + Washington D.C., have no Parental Notification or Consent laws on the books. Utah is the only state that does not have a mechanism for judicially bypassing the parental requirements.
The Alan Guttmacher Institute (the research arm of Planned Parenthood) has an entire section of their website devoted to state abortion law. While their agenda is deplorable, the information is helpful. They report that 46 states require hospitals, facilities and physicians providing abortions to submit regular reports to the state. Three states, Maryland, New Hampshire, and New Jersey + Washington D.C., collect voluntary abortion data. California currently does neither.
31 states have bans against "partial-birth" abortion: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Of these bans, only 13 are actually in effect, largely due to individual court orders that have blocked enforcement in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
29 states require that women receive counseling prior to their abortion. Of these, the following 23 states mandate that women wait a specified amount of time (usually 24 hours) between receiving counseling and obtaining an abortion. Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Only five states require abortion counseling to be done in person: Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Utah, and Wisconsin. The remaining states which require counseling but not a waiting period are: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Maine, Nevada, and Rhode Island.
For more information on state abortion laws for a specific state use the pull-down menu below (you will be taken to the appropriate section of the Alan Guttmacher website). Also visit the Life Legal Defense Fund's excellent resource OverruleRoe.com which examines the state-by-state impact of overturning Roe.
Another good source for abortion-related news and legislation on the state level comes directly from the state affiliates of the National Right to Life. State affiliate websites are listed below:
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