Understanding State Abortion Laws After the Fall of Roe v. Wade

After nearly 50 years of Roe v. Wade being the law of the land, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the landmark case protecting abortion rights. The Court returned the issue of regulating abortions to the states, which has led to a complex maze of old laws, new laws, triggering statutes, constitutional amendments, court decisions, temporary injunctions, and a continuing stream of litigation.

Below we review the Supreme Court decisions that led us here, the status of abortion bans in the states (skip down to the state chart), how these state abortion laws work, and when a woman could face criminal prosecution for a pregnancy outcome.

Understanding Roe, Casey, and Dobbs

Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey were the two key U.S. Supreme Court decisions that protected the right to abortion and limited state regulations of abortions. Decided in 1973 and 1992, respectively, they established the framework for abortion laws for nearly 50 years. These cases generally protected a woman's right to an abortion—with restrictions—up to viability (usually close to week 22). Both decisions were overruled by the 2022 Supreme Court decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Roe v. Wade

Roe v. Wade established that women have a constitutional right to obtain an abortion and the government (states) can't arbitrarily interfere with this right. Roe decided states may only regulate abortion after the first trimester and only ban abortions after fetus viability (in the third trimester), except when necessary to protect the life and health of the mother. (410 U.S. 113 (1973).)

Planned Parenthood v. Casey

In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court reviewed state regulations of abortion. The Casey Court affirmed the Roe decision but threw out its "trimester" analysis and announced a new standard. The Court held that state pre-viability regulations were allowed as long as they didn't present an undue or substantial burden on the woman seeking the abortion. This new standard allowed more state regulation of abortions than Roe did. (505 U.S. 833 (1992).)

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization

In 2022, the Supreme Court overruled Roe and Casey in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The Dobbs Court decided that Roe and Casey were wrongfully decided. A majority held that there's no constitutional right to an abortion. The Court returned the authority to regulate abortions to the states.

States' Laws and Legislation

Many states had prepared for the moment that Roe would be struck down. Some had enacted "triggering statutes"—abortion laws that would trigger (go into effect) upon Roe being struck down. These laws created abortion laws and bans that weren't legal under Roe and were essentially on hold until they were legal. Other states left their pre-Roe abortion laws in place for decades so that they could be enforced should Roe be struck down. States with abortion protections already in place worked to further enshrine and protect those rights.

Since (and even prior to) 2022 and the fall of Roe, there's been a flurry of legislative changes, court challenges, and ballot initiatives that have created a completely new landscape of abortion laws in the United States. These laws are constantly changing.

Is Abortion Illegal Since Roe v. Wade Was Overturned?

It depends on what state you're in. Thirteen states have made most abortions illegal. Eight states restrict most abortions except early on in the pregnancy (6 to 18 weeks). On the flip side, 20 states protect abortion rights throughout the majority of the pregnancy (around 20 to 24 weeks). And nine states, plus D.C., don't have gestational bans, which means abortions are legal throughout the pregnancy.

But, as discussed below, state abortion bans don't criminalize the actions of the pregnant person. Rather, they focus their penalties on the doctors and abortion providers. So a woman won't go to jail for having an abortion.

How State Abortion Laws Work

State abortion laws are complex. Most states regulate various aspects of abortion care and provider duties, as well as insurance coverage and public funding of abortion. Concerning the legality of performing abortions, most state laws impose prohibitions based on the pregnancy or gestational stage measured in weeks from the first day of the woman's last menstrual cycle.

Below we review abortion bans, protections, and policies.

State Abortion Bans

States generally enforce abortion bans by making it a crime for doctors and health providers to provide abortions. Instead of criminalizing the woman receiving the abortion, nearly all states focus their criminal penalties on doctors and providers. Doctors and providers don't want to face criminal charges or the loss of their professional licenses (and neither do their employers), which effectively ends the ability to get an abortion in those states with such laws.

All states with restrictive bans provide exceptions that allow abortions when necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman.

State Policies That Restrict Abortion Access

States can also restrict abortion access by implementing policies that impose burdens on abortion providers and patients or that reduce patient access to certain abortion care.

These policies may impose a number of requirements that doctors, providers, and clinics must meet before performing legal abortions under their states' laws. Not meeting these requirements can lead to criminal penalties, civil penalties, and licensing actions for these providers.

For instance, a state law might direct abortion providers to:

• have a physician license and hospital admitting privileges
• perform an ultrasound on the patient
• inform the patient about fetal development
• provide the patient with information on the risks of abortion procedures and alternatives, such as adoption, and
• obtain parental consent if the patient is a minor.

State laws may also require a doctor performing an emergency abortion (to protect the life or health of the pregnant woman) to consult with another doctor and document their medical opinions prior to the procedure.

Policies that restrict patient access to abortion care can include:

• prohibiting telemedicine appointments and certain medical procedures
• requiring mandatory in-person counseling and waiting periods before the procedure (often 24 to 72 hours after counseling), and
• restricting the use of public funds or private insurance to cover abortion costs.

States have also given legal status and protections to fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses in what are called "fetal personhood" laws.

State Abortion Protections

Many states that legalize most abortions have put additional protections into place following Dobbs. These protections aim to recognize abortion and reproductive health as fundamental rights.

Examples of these laws include:

• enacting statutes that expressly protect a woman's right to make decisions regarding reproductive healthcare
• limiting the legal rights of a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus
• prohibiting criminal, legal, or licensing sanctions from being taken against practitioners who provide abortion services to out-of-state residents, and
• repealing pre-Roe abortion bans or restrictions.

A few states, like California and Colorado, have placed abortion rights in their constitutions. Other states have recognized a constitutional right to abortion through state court decisions.

State Policies That Expand Abortion Access

Several states have implemented policies to expand access to abortion care for pregnant individuals from inside and outside of their state. Many of these are the opposite of the restrictions noted above. For example, state law might:

• require public medical assistance programs and private insurance to cover abortion care and contraception
• allow abortion care to be provided by nurse practitioners and physician assistants
• permit minors of a certain age to consent to abortion
• allow telemedicine and mail-order prescriptions for abortion care
• shield practitioners, nurses, and other medical professionals from licensing consequences or criminal or civil liability for performing or assisting in an abortion, or
• prohibit state resources or data from being used in out-of-state abortion criminal investigations.

Some states have created abortion funds to provide financial aid and public funding to expand access to abortion and reproductive healthcare, such as California and New York.

Do Abortion Laws Make It a Crime to Have a Miscarriage or Stillbirth?

Pre- and post-Dobbs, prosecutors have used a variety of criminal laws to prosecute women for actions taken relating to miscarriage or stillbirth. These charges don't typically fall under the state's abortion laws. Rather, prosecutors have filed charges relating to homicide, child abuse, or illegal drug use.

Fetal Personhood Laws

In the states where these kinds of charges are possible, the law often defines an unborn child as a human being. Sometimes called "fetal personhood" laws, these laws give unborn children certain legal protections. Quite a few states provide these protections in criminal laws, stating that for purposes of homicide, assault, and abuse crimes, an unborn child falls within their protections. In some states, personhood starts at the moment of conception. Several states expanded their fetal personhood laws after Dobbs.

Some states took the opposite approach, expressly rejecting the legal concept of fetal personhood in law. For instance, Colorado's homicide law states that a person means a "human being who had been born and was alive at the time of the homicidal act." (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-3-101 (2025).)

Health Code and Vital Statistic Laws

Some prosecutors have filed criminal charges based on a woman's actions taken after a stillbirth or miscarriage. Specifically, many have looked to their health codes or vital statistic laws which may make it a crime to:

• conceal a stillbirth
• fail to report a miscarriage or stillbirth (to a coroner or other authority), or
• unlawfully dispose of human remains (sometimes called "abuse of a corpse").

Using these laws, prosecutors have charged women with misdemeanors and felonies for not properly reporting or disposing of fetal remains after having a miscarriage or stillbirth in a non-hospital setting. These laws exist in every state.

Examples of Criminal Charges Relating to Miscarriage or Stillbirth

Below are examples of charges three women faced following miscarriages and stillbirths.

Abuse of a corpse. Ohio prosecutors charged Brittany Watts with felony abuse of a corpse after she miscarried in 2023. Doctors had declared the fetus nonviable days earlier. Watts had been in the hospital for 19 hours over 2 days waiting for the hospital ethics committee to decide on how to handle her case under the state's abortion laws. Against medical advice, Watts went home and ended up miscarrying there. She returned to the hospital for medical care, and hospital staff called the police. They charged her with abuse of a corpse because she did not properly dispose of the miscarried fetus. But a grand jury declined to indict her.

Homicide by child abuse. In 2023, South Carolina investigators arrested and held a college student in jail on suspicion of homicide by child abuse. The student, Amari Marsh, didn't realize she was pregnant. She went to the emergency room one night due to severe pain and found out she was pregnant. After returning home, she miscarried. Three months later, police arrested her and she spent 22 days in jail. The charges alleged that she failed to seek out prenatal care and did not render quick enough aid to the fetus she miscarried. A grand jury refused to indict her.

Manslaughter. Patience Frazier, a Nevada woman, spent two years in custody for manslaughter after she miscarried in 2018. She miscarried at home and buried the fetus. She was later arrested and charged with manslaughter for taking a substance with the intent to terminate a pregnancy. Those substances were cinnamon, marijuana, and meth. Even though the actual cause of death was not determined, her attorney made a plea deal with the prosecutor for the manslaughter charges. Frazier pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months to 8 years in prison. Her case was later appealed, and a judge tossed out the conviction based on ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to explain the prosecutor's burden of proof. She spent two years in prison.

Abortion Laws by State

Below is a list by state on the status of abortion bans and exceptions that existed as of February 5, 2025. This chart identifies the general status of abortion as legal, illegal, or subject to a gestational ban, plus any exceptions to these bans. Gestational bans generally prohibit or restrict abortions after a set number of weeks or upon fetal viability (approximately 20 to 22 weeks). This chart doesn't identify other restrictions to abortion care that may apply, such as notification or counseling requirements, waiting periods, or parental consent for minors.

Only citations to state statutes and constitutions are provided in the chart. State court opinions (with a few exceptions) are not listed.

As noted above, abortion laws are changing rapidly. Consult an attorney or review the applicable law to ensure it's the most recent version and hasn't been impacted by state court decisions, elections, or legislation. Several states enacted constitutional amendments in the 2024 elections. To the extent the new constitutional language conflicts with current state law, court challenges may delay the implementation of these laws.

Finding More Resources on State Abortion Laws

To find more information on abortion laws, check out the following resources.

• Center for Reproductive Rights: Abortion Laws by State
• Family Research Council: Pro-Life Laws in the States
• Guttmacher: State Abortion Policies and Access After Roe
• KFF.org: Status of Abortion Bans in the U.S.
• Susan B Anthony: Pro-Life Laws

If you are seeking legal information on abortion, contact an attorney in your state. You might want to reach out to a civil rights attorney, family law attorney, or criminal defense lawyer depending on the issue. Legal aid organizations may also be a good option for assistance.