U.S. abortion rights by state

Written by

Mindy Johnston

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 5, 2026 •History

Beginning in 1973 with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade, Americans’ right to abortion was protected under the Constitution through the Court’s interpretation of a right to privacy. The Court reaffirmed this right in 1992 with Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. Though abortion rights appeared to many jurists to be precedent and “settled law,” anti-abortion activists and their sponsors never saw it as such, and for nearly 50 years they lobbied the Court to overturn Roe. The Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization did just that. Federal abortion rights were nullified, and the regulation of abortion was returned to the states. As of November 2026, 13 states have enacted a total ban on abortion with few exceptions. The landscape of abortion rights is in flux with each new election cycle, state legislative session, and round of court decisions.

In August 2026 both Massachusetts and Idaho saw significant changes to their states’ laws governing abortion exceptions. On August 10, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed legislation revising the restrictions governing abortions after 24 weeks. Under the revised law, a physician may perform an abortion after 24 weeks based on the physician’s professional judgment. On August 13, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that Idaho’s near-total abortion laws violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment insofar as they prohibited abortions necessary to protect a pregnant person from serious and lasting health risks that were not life-endangering. According to lawyers for the plaintiff, Winmill’s decision was the first federal court ruling since Dobbs to recognize a constitutional right to abortion under certain circumstances. Idaho’s attorney general’s office challenged the ruling, and on October 30 a federal appeals court ruled that Idaho’s abortion ban would remain in effect while the appeal proceeded.

Abortion rights were on the ballot in four states in the November 2026 midterm elections. Voters in three states—Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia—voted to preserve or strengthen abortion rights. Missouri voters rejected a ballot initiative that would have repealed the rights to reproductive freedom enshrined in the state constitution. In both Nevada and Virginia, voters approved measures enshrining reproductive rights in their state constitutions. Voters in Idaho rejected an initiative to establish the right to private reproductive health care decisions (including abortion access until fetal viability) in state law.

Use the interactive map below to learn about abortion rights in your state.

**U.S. abortion rights by state**
state	abortion rights	details and exceptions
*Although not a state, the District of Columbia has its own abortion laws.
¹Ranging between 22 and 26 weeks, as determined by state and medical professionals.

²“Lethal fetal anomaly” means a fetal condition diagnosed before birth that, if the pregnancy results in a live birth, will with reasonable certainty result in the death of the child not more than three (3) months after the child’s birth. (Indiana Code [IC] 16-25-4.5-2).
Alabama	Full ban	All abortions prohibited. Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person.
Alaska	Legal with no gestational limit
Arizona	Legal before viability¹	Exception to preserve the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.
Arkansas	Full ban	All abortions prohibited. Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person.
California	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person.
Colorado	Legal with no gestational limit
Connecticut	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person.
Delaware	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person or for lethal fetal anomaly.
District of Columbia^*	Legal with no gestational limit
Florida	Ban after 6 weeks	Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person; for victims of rape, incest, domestic violence, or human trafficking who have reported the incident to law enforcement up to 15 weeks gestation; and for fatal fetal abnormality until the third trimester. Medication abortion must be dispensed in person by a physician and cannot be delivered by mail or other courier service.
Georgia	Ban after 6 weeks	Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person, for lethal fetal anomaly, or through 20 weeks for rape or incest survivors who have reported the incident to law enforcement.
Hawaii	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person.
Idaho	Full ban	All abortions prohibited. Exception for survivors of rape and incest who have reported the incident to law enforcement. An exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person may be made if, in the judgment of the performing physician, the pregnant person—because of an existing medical condition or pregnancy complication that would be alleviated by an abortion—faces a non-negligible risk of dying sooner without an abortion.
Illinois	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person.
Indiana	Full ban	All abortions prohibited. Exception for lethal fetal anomaly², rape or incest before 12 weeks of pregnancy, or serious risk to the health or life of a pregnant person.
Iowa	Ban after 6 weeks	Exception for medical emergency to preserve the life of the pregnant person, a lethal fetal anomaly before 20 weeks, or if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest and the incident was reported to law enforcement or a public or private health agency within 45 days of the occurrence.
Kansas	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person.
Kentucky	Full ban	All abortions prohibited. Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person.
Louisiana	Full ban	All abortions prohibited. Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person or for lethal fetal anomaly.
Maine	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exceptions at physician’s discretion.
Maryland	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person or for lethal fetal anomaly.
Massachusetts	Ban at 24 weeks	Abortions may be performed by a physician based upon the professional judgment of the physician.
Michigan	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person.
Minnesota	Legal with no gestational limit
Mississippi	Full ban	All abortions prohibited. Exception for survivors of rape and incest who have reported the incident to law enforcement or to preserve the life of the pregnant person.
Missouri	Legal before viability¹	Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person.
Montana	Legal before viability¹	Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person.
Nebraska	Ban after 11 weeks, 6 days	Exceptions for survivors of rape and incest, to preserve the life of the pregnant person, or for ectopic pregnancies.
Nevada	Legal before viability¹	Exception to protect the health or life of the pregnant person.
New Hampshire	Ban at 24 weeks	Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person or for lethal fetal anomaly.
New Jersey	Legal with no gestational limit
New Mexico	Legal with no gestational limit
New York	Legal before viability¹	Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person or for lethal fetal anomaly.
North Carolina	Ban after 12 weeks	Exception for ectopic pregnancy, survivors of rape or incest through week 20, or lethal fetal anomaly through week 24.
North Dakota	Full ban	Exception in the case of death or serious health risk to the pregnant person and for survivors and victims of rape and incest up to six weeks gestation.
Ohio	Legal before viability¹	Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person.
Oklahoma	Full ban	All abortions prohibited.
Oregon	Legal with no gestational limit
Pennsylvania	Ban at 24 weeks	Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person.
Rhode Island	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person.
South Carolina	Ban after 6 weeks	Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person, for lethal fetal anomaly, or for survivors of rape and incest up to 12 weeks gestation.
South Dakota	Full ban	All abortions prohibited. Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person.
Tennessee	Full ban	All abortions prohibited. Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person.
Texas	Full ban	All abortions prohibited. Exception for a limited set of medical emergencies.
Utah	Ban at 18 weeks	Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person or for lethal fetal anomaly.
Vermont	Legal with no gestational limit
Virginia	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person.
Washington	Legal before viability¹	Abortion is banned at fetal viability. Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person.
West Virginia	Full ban	All abortions prohibited. Exception for nonmedically viable fetus, ectopic pregnancy, medical emergency, or for survivors of rape and incest up to 8–14 weeks gestation who have reported the incident to law enforcement.
Wisconsin	Ban at 22 weeks	Exception to preserve the life of the pregnant person.
Wyoming	Ban after 6 weeks	Abortion is banned after embryonic cardiac activity is detected, generally at or about six weeks of gestation. Exception to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person.

Mindy Johnston

U.S. abortion rights by state

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