Abortion Bans
About this dataset:
This dataset is valid through October 1, 2021. It does not include any laws enacted or changed after that date, and does not reflect the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade. This database is updated annually, with the next publication scheduled for December 2022.
Restrictions on abortion are most often accomplished by prohibiting abortions at specific gestational limits, usually defined in state law by either a certain number of weeks post-fertilization, or from a pregnant person’s last menstrual period (LMP). Further limitations on abortions in state-level regulation include restrictions based on a pregnant person’s reason for seeking an abortion, and bans on certain types of procedures used in late-term abortions. Additionally, some abortion bans are either contingent on a court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, or have been in place prior to Roe protections.This dataset explores abortion regulations in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in effect from December 1, 2018 through October 1, 2021, as well as case law and attorney general opinions that affect the enforceability of these laws.
This dataset is a part of a suite of 16 datasets created by the Policy Surveillance Program of the Center for Public Health Law Research in collaboration with subject matter experts from Resources for Abortion Delivery (RAD), Guttmacher Institute, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), National Abortion Federation (NAF), and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), who conceptualized and developed the Abortion Law Database. If you need broader contextual information on state laws and policies, national level information, or data and evidence related to abortion and other reproductive health issues, please contact the Guttmacher Institute at info@guttmacher.org.
Disclaimer: The information contained herein does not constitute legal advice. If you have questions regarding your legal rights or obligations, contact an attorney. If you are an abortion provider seeking legal compliance guidance, the following collaborating organizations may be able to assist you: ACLU, CRR, PPFA (for affiliated health centers), NAF, and Regulatory Assistance for Abortion Providers (a project of RAD).
If you have any questions about the information provided here, please contact LawAtlas@temple.edu or RAAP@radprogram.org.