Why It Matters
A patchwork of state abortion restrictions now creates vastly different access to abortion across the country, with some states permitting the procedure until fetal viability while others maintain near-total bans. A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report updated September 1 catalogs these state abortion laws passed since the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade.
The Big Picture
The CRS report organizes state laws prohibiting or limiting abortion prior to 24 weeks' gestational age into eight categories by restriction type.
Ten states have enacted six-week abortion prohibitions, including Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas; some of these states also appear among those with 20-week bans because state legislatures may have passed multiple, overlapping abortion laws.
A larger group maintains 20-week bans, spanning Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, though some of these states also maintain more restrictive overlapping bans at earlier gestational thresholds.
Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi layer 15-week restrictions on top of more restrictive bans, creating overlapping legal thresholds within single states.
The report captures laws passed between September 1, 2021, and August 25, 2026, with the most recent provisions dated December 5, 2024. Medical advancements may have moved the point of fetal viability earlier than 24 weeks, the report notes, though it does not address exceptions for rape, incest, or medical emergencies, nor does it cover restrictions on specific methods such as medication abortion.
The Bottom Line
Voter-approved ballot initiatives have begun reshaping the abortion landscape in ways that contradict legislative restrictions. Voters in Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, and Ohio approved state constitutional amendments protecting abortion rights between 2022 and 2024. Arizona's pre-Roe near-total abortion ban was repealed effective September 14, 2024, following voter approval of Proposition 139. Montana voters approved Initiative CI-128 on November 5, 2024, establishing a constitutional right to abortion until fetal viability, which would supersede the state's 20-week abortion ban. In states where voter-approved protections conflict with legislative restrictions, courts will ultimately determine which rules govern access, leaving enforcement and prosecutorial discretion as critical variables shaping real-world outcomes.
Access the Legis1 platform for comprehensive political news, data, and insights.
Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article