Mapped: How late in pregnancy states allow abortions
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State laws surrounding abortion have been in flux since since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago.
The big picture: The battle over abortion access remains in some states, where anti-abortion and pro-choice advocates are engaged in a tug-of-war over the specific legalities and limits of the procedure.
- The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in late June that a ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy will take effect by mid-July.
- A six-week ban on the procedure took effect in Florida in May, but abortion rights will be back on ballots in the state this November.
Meanwhile, more than 1 million abortions took place in the U.S. health care system last year. That's the highest number in more than a decade, per the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
Zoom in: States vary on the gestational limits of abortion, but 14 states have laws in effect banning nearly all abortions starting at fertilization.
- Six weeks: Florida, South Carolina and Georgia are the only states that have laws in effect banning abortions when cardiac activity has been detected in an embryo, which is at around six weeks.
- 12 weeks: Nebraska and North Carolina are the two states that currently ban abortion at the 12-week mark.
- 15 weeks: Arizona currently bans abortion at 15 weeks. The state Supreme Court in April upheld a near-total abortion ban, but Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill in May to repeal it. The move will allow a 2022 law permitting abortions through 15 weeks of pregnancy to take effect. However, since the repeal will not take effect until at least Sept. 26, the near-total ban may be enforced this summer.
- 18 weeks: Utah is the only state that currently bans abortion at 18 weeks of pregnancy.
- 20 weeks: Iowa bans abortion starting at 20 weeks post-fertilization.
- 22 weeks: Kansas and Ohio ban abortions at 22 weeks of pregnancy.
In Wisconsin, abortions are banned at 20 or more weeks postfertilization (22 weeks after the last menstrual period).
Zoom out: More than half of states have restrictions in place only at or after viability, or have no limit at all.
- 24 weeks or later: Four states ban abortions starting at 24 weeks of pregnancy.
- Viability: More than a dozen states ban abortions after the fetus is considered viable. Some laws that don't specify a limit say it's up to the abortion provider's "judgment" to determine whether a fetus is viable.
- Third trimester: Virginia is the only state that prohibits abortions starting in the pregnancy's third trimester, which starts at around 25 weeks, per Guttmacher.
No limit: Six states and Washington, D.C., do not impose any term restrictions.
Of note: Most states with restrictions have exceptions, including to preserve a pregnant person's life or health, though they are often narrowly defined.
- The Texas Supreme Court in late May unanimously rejected a lawsuit over abortion ban exceptions.
Go deeper: Where abortion is on the ballot in November
