New research indicates that states with strict abortion restrictions are experiencing higher rates of maternal deaths. The Commonwealth Fund analyzed data from 2021 to 2022, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the implementation of state abortion laws. Dr. Carolyn Sufrin, an associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
The landscape of abortion access in the United States has undergone rapid changes since the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and removed the federal constitutional right to abortion. In the aftermath, many state legislatures have introduced new abortion restrictions and bans, while others have begun enforcing pre-existing ones. Research has consistently shown that abortion bans disproportionately affect marginalized groups. People who face systemic racism and other forms of oppression often encounter additional barriers to accessing abortion services.
Many state laws offer limited exceptions to total bans and gestational age-based restrictions. While these exceptions are often presented as compromises, they tend to obscure the broader harms of abortion bans. In practice, most exceptions are intentionally difficult to navigate, featuring vague and contradictory language and imposing burdensome requirements.
The abortion restrictions outlined below illustrate some of the ways state laws and policies may limit or prohibit access to abortion care. For more detailed information on current state abortion laws and restrictions, Guttmacher’s interactive map on state abortion policies and state legislation tracker are valuable resources.
Definitions
- Gestational duration: An estimate of how long a person has been pregnant, typically calculated from the number of weeks since their last menstrual period (LMP). Some states, however, define it as the number of weeks since conception. State legislation often uses gestational duration to set arbitrary timelines for abortion bans and restrictions. Most state abortion laws reference “probable gestational age,” usually determined by LMP; the weeks listed in related tables refer to LMP unless otherwise noted.
- Viability: A nonmedical term referring to the point at which a fetus can survive outside the uterus, generally considered to be between 24 and 26 weeks LMP. Many statutory bans set limits on abortion based on the concept of viability.
- General health: Assessed by a licensed healthcare provider who can perform abortions, this term may include considerations of the pregnant person’s mental and emotional well-being.
- Physical health: Refers exclusively to the physical functioning of the patient’s body and may be further limited to major bodily functions.
- Lethal fetal anomaly: A fetal condition likely to be fatal before or shortly after birth.
