State Abortion Laws
Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last reviewed August 19, 2024
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State abortion laws define the methods and circumstances under which a pregnancy may be terminated. Click on a state on the map or select from the list of states below for state-specific abortion laws, including the definitions of legal and illegal abortions, consent/notice requirements, waiting periods, and penalties for violations of abortion laws.
Abortion Laws by State
Select your state below
| State | Law |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Abortion is illegal in Alabama unless there is a serious health risk to the pregnant woman. |
| Alaska | Abortion is generally legal in Alaska, except that partial birth abortions are legal only if necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. |
| Arizona | Abortion is legal in Arizona if performed by a physician until the fetus reaches a gestational age of 15 weeks. Thereafter, abortion is legal only in cases of medical emergency to save the life of the pregnant woman or to prevent a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. |
| Arkansas | Abortion is illegal in Arkansas unless necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life. |
| California | Abortion is legal in California until fetal viability. Thereafter, abortion is legal if a physician certifies that continuation of the pregnancy poses a risk to the pregnant person's life or health. |
| Colorado | Abortion is legal in Colorado. |
| Connecticut | Abortion is legal in Connecticut until fetal viability. Thereafter, abortion is legal only if necessary to preserve the life or health of the patient. |
| Delaware | Abortion is legal in Delaware through viability. Thereafter, abortion is legal only if the life of the pregnant woman is at risk or the fetus is not compatible with life outside the womb without extraordinary efforts. |
| District of Columbia | Abortion is legal in the District of Columbia. |
| Florida | Abortion is legal in Florida until a physician determines that the gestational age of the fetus is more than 6 weeks. Thereafter, abortion remains legal if necessary to save the pregnant woman's life or to avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function other than a psychological condition. Abortion is also legal before the third trimester in cases of fatal fetal abnormality. Finally, abortion is also legal in reported cases of rape, incest, or human trafficking, but only when the gestational age of the fetus is not more than 15 weeks. |
| Georgia | Abortion is legal in Georgia until a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which typically occurs when the fetus reaches a gestational age of six weeks. Thereafter, abortion is illegal except in cases of medical emergency, a medically futile pregnancy, or in reported cases of rape or incest where the fetus is at a gestational age of 20 weeks or less. |
| Hawaii | Abortion is legal in Hawaii through viability. Thereafter, abortion is legal only if the fetus cannot survive or the life of the pregnant woman is at risk. |
| Idaho | Abortion is illegal in Idaho unless necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman or in cases of rape or incest that has been reported to law enforcement. |
| Illinois | Abortion is legal in Illinois through viability. Thereafter, abortion is legal only if the health care professional finds it necessary to protect the life or health of the patient. |
| Indiana | Abortion is illegal in Indiana, except in cases of rape or incest, when there is a lethal fetal anomaly, or when necessary either to save a woman's life or to prevent a serious health risk. |
| Iowa | Abortion is legal in Iowa until 20 weeks. A 2023 law that would ban abortion at 6 weeks in most circumstances has been blocked in court. Litigation remains pending. |
| Kansas | Abortion is legal in Kansas until the fetus reaches a gestational age of 22 weeks. Thereafter, abortion is legal only if the abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman or to prevent a substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. |
| Kentucky | Abortion is illegal in Kentucky. |
| Louisiana | Abortion is illegal in Louisiana, unless necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman or the pregnancy is medically futile. |
| Maine | Abortion is legal in Maine until viability. Thereafter, abortion is legal only when the physician finds it medically necessary. |
| Maryland | Abortion is legal in Maryland through viability. Thereafter, abortion is legal only to save the pregnant woman’s life or if the fetus is affected by a genetic defect or serious deformity or abnormality. |
| Massachusetts | Abortion is legal in Massachusetts until 24 weeks of pregnancy. Thereafter, abortion is legal only to preserve the life of the patient; to preserve the patient's physical or mental health; due to a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis; or due to a grave fetal diagnosis indicating that the fetus is incompatible with life outside the uterus without extraordinary medical interventions. |
| Michigan | Abortion is legal in Michigan through fetal viability. Thereafter, the state may regulate abortion, but it cannot prohibit an abortion that in the professional judgment of the health care professional is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual. |
| Minnesota | Abortion is legal in Minnesota. |
| Mississippi | Abortion is illegal in Mississippi unless the life of the pregnant woman is at risk or in reported cases of rape. |
| Missouri | Abortion is illegal in Missouri except in the case of a medical emergency. |
| Montana | Abortion is legal in Montana through viability. Thereafter, abortion is legal only if necessary to prevent a serious health risk to the unborn child's mother. |
| Nebraska | Abortion is legal in Nebraska until the 12th week. Thereafter, abortion is only legal in cases involving a medical emergency or where the pregnancy resulted from sexual assault or incest. |
| Nevada | Abortion is legal in Nevada through 24 weeks. Thereafter, abortion is legal only if necessary to preserve the life or the health of the pregnant woman. |
| New Hampshire | Abortion is legal in New Hampshire until 24 weeks. Thereafter, abortion is legal only in the case of a medical emergency or a fetal abnormality incompatible with life. Medical emergency means the abortion is necessary to preserve the life of a pregnant woman. It includes a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. |
| New Jersey | Abortion is legal in New Jersey. |
| New Mexico | Abortion is legal in New Mexico. |
| New York | Abortion is legal in New York through 24 weeks. Thereafter, abortion is legal only if the fetus is not compatible with life or if necessary to preserve the pregnant woman’s life or health. |
| North Carolina | Abortion is legal in North Carolina through the first 12 weeks of pregnancy without conditions. In cases where a pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, abortion is legal through 20 weeks of pregnancy. In cases where a physician detects a life-limiting anomaly, abortion is legal through 24 weeks. Thereafter, abortion is only legal in cases of medical emergency. |
| North Dakota | Abortion is illegal in North Dakota unless deemed necessary based on reasonable medical judgment intended to prevent death or a serious health risk to the pregnant woman. A further exception may be granted in cases of sexual assault or incest, if the unborn child's gestational age is 6 weeks or less. |
| Ohio | Abortion is legal in Ohio until viability. Thereafter, abortion may be restricted unless necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient. |
| Oklahoma | Abortion is illegal in Oklahoma unless the continuation of the pregnancy will endanger the woman's life due to the pregnancy itself or due to a medical condition that the woman is either currently suffering from or likely to suffer from during the pregnancy. |
| Oregon | Abortion is legal in Oregon. |
| Pennsylvania | Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania through 24 weeks. Thereafter, abortion is legal only if necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. |
| Rhode Island | Abortion is legal in Rhode Island through viability. Thereafter, abortion is legal only if necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life. |
| South Carolina | Abortion is legal until a fetal heartbeat has been detected (typically at 6 weeks), with exceptions for rape or incest during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, medical emergencies, or fatal fetal anomalies. |
| South Dakota | Abortion is illegal in South Dakota unless necessary to save the life of the pregnant female. |
| Tennessee | Abortion is illegal in Tennessee unless necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. |
| Texas | Abortion is illegal in Texas unless a physician finds, in the exercise of reasonable medical judgment, that it is necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant person or prevent a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant person. |
| Utah | Abortion is legal in Utah until 18 weeks of pregnancy. |
| Vermont | Abortion is legal in Vermont. |
| Virginia | Abortion is legal in Virginia through the second trimester. Thereafter, abortion is legal only when three physicians certify that it is necessary as continuation of the pregnancy will likely lead to death of the woman or will substantially and irremediably impair the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman. |
| Washington | Abortion is legal in Washington until fetal viability. Thereafter, abortion is legal if necessary to protect the pregnant individual's life or health. |
| West Virginia | Abortion is illegal in West Virginia except in the case of a medical emergency, the fetus is not compatible with life, or in the case of an ectopic pregnancy. In cases of sexual assault, abortion is available up to 8 weeks of pregnancy. |
| Wisconsin | Abortion is legal in Wisconsin while a challenge to a statewide ban is pending in state court. |
| Wyoming | Abortion is legal in Wyoming while a challenge to a statewide ban is pending in state court. |