A total of 22 states have moved to ban or restrict abortion following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and end all federal protections for abortion.
Why it matters: At least 24 U.S. states in total are expected to ban abortions or heavily restrict access to them, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights organization.
- As more bans go into effect, people seeking abortions have been forced to either travel hundreds of miles to another state that allows abortions or order abortion pills that are prescribed online and delivered through the mail.
- However, state lawmakers have already cracked down on abortion medications and may seek to prosecute people who cross state lines to get an abortion.
How it works: The Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe established the constitutional right to an abortion within the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
- The court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, a case challenging a Mississippi law on the grounds that it violated Roe and other precedents, overturned Roe and granted states the legal authority to ban the procedure at any point in pregnancy — including at fertilization.
Where abortions are banned:
At least 22 states have banned or restricted abortion, as of Aug. 23: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
- Near-total bans have been enacted in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
- The unclear status of Wisconsin's pre-Roe ban has forced clinics to stop providing abortions.
- Indiana's ban is expected to take effect in August.
- A six-week ban is in effect in Georgia. States like Idaho, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas also have six-week bans, but their near-total bans take precedence.
- 12-week bans are in place in Nebraska and North Carolina.
- Arizona and Florida have 15-week bans in place. The latter recently enacted a six-week ban, but that law is not yet enforceable.
- Utah has an 18-week ban.
Where abortion bans are blocked:
Abortion bans are currently blocked in seven states: Arizona, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah and Wyoming.
- In Arizona, an appeals court blocked the enforcement of the state's pre-Roe ban.
- Iowa's six-week ban, which took effect in July 2023, was temporarily blocked just days after it took effect.
- North Dakota's trigger ban was set to take effect following the Supreme Court's ruling. However, a judge temporarily blocked it on Aug. 25, 2022.
- In Ohio, a six-week abortion ban was allowed to take effect after Roe's fall, but it is indefinitely blocked.
- The South Carolina state Supreme Court reversed course in August after striking down a six-week abortion ban in January.
- Utah's trigger law took effect shortly after the Supreme Court released its ruling overturning Roe, but it has since been temporarily blocked.
- A state judge temporarily blocked a Utah law that effectively bans abortion clinics in the state, arguing that it was discriminatory.
- While Wyoming's trigger law took effect a month after Dobbs, just hours after it became active, a state judge temporarily blocked the law.
Go deeper: Where abortion access is guaranteed without Roe v. Wade