Talk:Abortion law in the United States by state

Unclear reference to 14th Amendment

(Apologies if this is the wrong way to bring up an issue).

Maybe this comes up a lot in the debates in the US, so Americans understand the reference, but the wiki article just quotes the 14th, implies its somehow relevant, doesn't say why, and doesn't mention it again:

"""The key deliberated article of the US Constitution is the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that:

   All persons born or naturalized in the United States [etc.]"""

Given that abortion relates to the unborn, and 14th relates to "born", its not at all clear how it relates to abortion, or perhaps the 14th relates to the rights of the mother? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:569:7D6D:9200:8C30:742A:52FB:F15D (talk) 15:56, 11 April 2024 (UTC)

Wisconsin Abortions

Wisconsin should be blue because "danger to the life of the mother" is a valid exception within the law. --Studio 126 (talk) 15:14, 24 June 2022 (UTC)

WI should be black. It's got a pre-Roe ban that is now in effect. 2601:246:C00:33C0:476:A464:F33D:495A (talk) 20:08, 1 July 2022 (UTC)

abortion is illegal in zero states. 2601:603:4882:87D0:9D2E:D31B:2D68:5277 (talk) 14:27, 27 May 2023 (UTC)

ALL states have exemption to prohibition of abortion. So its not really 'illegal' in any states. 2601:603:4882:87D0:9D2E:D31B:2D68:5277 (talk) 14:28, 27 May 2023 (UTC)

No it isn't, that's a valid exception in most laws Pogchampange (talk) 02:14, 1 July 2022 (UTC)

Extraneous asterisk - trigger laws with unusual clauses

In the "Bans of Abortion" table in the row for South Dakota, there is an asterisk next to the value "No" in the column "Trigger Law on any abortion".

There is no other asterisk in the article. Perhaps the original editor was referring to this point that there is something unusual about South Dakota's trigger law:

South Dakota has a unique "trigger" law saying abortion will be banned there, except to save the pregnant woman's life, effective "on the date that the states are recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court to have the authority to prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy."

Mississippi also has a timing associated with its trigger law:

Mississippi statute takes effect 10 days after the state’s attorney general determines in writing that the Supreme Court has overturned the ruling.

Is there anything unusual or notable about the other states' trigger laws?

Here is a reference where I saw this information. Here is an older document referring to another page which is 404.

Additional trigger law info.

I will delete the asterisk for now and when I have good references I am sure of, I will update the table again.

Need to add/modify a color on the map

North Carolina and Nebraska just passed 12-week bans, so it looks like we need to add yet another color to the map. Although ... it also looks like NC might have been the only 20-week ban in the country, so perhaps we can just repurpose the existing colors? Jfruh (talk) 20:00, 20 May 2023 (UTC)

Neutral Language and Graphics

The article can better work to avoid errors in language common to the press and the community-at-large to maintain neutral language.

For example - if a state allows elective abortion for 24 weeks, we refer to a 24 week ban and the word "ban" draws the focus. Of course this is nonsense - it is either an "after 24-weeks ban" or it is a "24 week allowance". Common vernacular removes neutrality.

Along with some of the prior comments on graphics, timing, and current states, the initial graph breaches neutrality again.

The topic is "Abortion Law in the United States" not "Elective Abortion Law in the United States". Thus, having an "elective abortion" graph as the initial graph in the article makes it seem that abortion is more restrictive than it actually is. While the current graphic is important, the initial graph should reflect only "abortion" - the topic of the article - not "elective abortion.kbachler (talk) 09:04, 17 June 2023 (UTC)"

Agreed.

Especially considering "elective" in this context simply refers to scheduled (i.e. non-emergency) medical procedures.

Beyond breaching neutrality, the initial map does not accurately reflect the legal status of abortion in some states.

A useful comparison can be made to the "Legality of Cannabis by U.S. Jurisdiction" article and its map. Consider cannabis' state law legality in Illinois (blue - legal recreational) vs Kentucky (green - legal for medical use) vs Indiana (grey - illegal). That map would be inaccurate without the 'green - medical use' category so that Kentucky was instead 'grey - illegal' simply because its legality is restricted to medical reasons.

This article's map for abortion laws is not accurate for exactly this reason. For example, Indiana is shaded 'black - illegal' even though abortions for medical reasons are legal in Indiana (with facility-specific exceptions).

Not only does the current map make some states' regulations seem more restrictive than they are, it does so even where access has actually been expanded in certain states.

rticle Pimprncess (talk) 19:24, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

Guam: Map update?

I've updated the section on Guam, which we hadn't quite gotten right previously. While it's true that there are no abortion providers based on the island, the current legal regime does allow for prescription of abortion pills via telemedicine by doctors licensed in Guam and two Hawaii-based physicians currently do so, so it seems misleading to just flatly give it the "no providers" grey on the map. There is also a near-total ban currently being appealed through the courts. I would suggest giving it the same red as Nebraska and a black border on the map, if someone who knows how to edit the maps wants to take a stab at it. --Jfruh (talk) 14:12, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Purple outline for Montana?

Why does Montana have a purple outline on the map, indicating that there's a restriction after 18 weeks that's blocked in court? There's nothing about such a law either on this page or on the Abortion in Montana page. --04:29, 27 July 2023 (UTC) Jfruh (talk) 04:29, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

I have now removed this outline from map, since I can't figure out what exactly it refers to. Jfruh (talk) 22:43, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

That purple outline was a 20 week ban, not an 18 week ban. The map legend removed the 20 week color code, so some were mistaking it for the 18 week color. JesusIsLord444 (talk) 17:35, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

It was a 20 week ban outline, not an 18 week one. JesusIsLord444 (talk) 17:36, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Can you provide a reference to the 20-week ban? Again, I wasn't able to find anything on that. Is litigation on it still active? In general (and this applies to the Iowa case below too) I think once a state law has completed its appeals process through the state court system, we should remove the outline, since it's no longer an active dispute. --Jfruh (talk) 17:49, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

https://apnews.com/article/health-business-government-and-politics-montana-abortion-901c2d7fdd0d5427b094bfde3a660032

It was passed in 2021 and is currently being litigated in court. JesusIsLord444 (talk) 19:23, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

It turns out there was actually a 15-week ban signed this year (and again blocked in court). I'll update. --Jfruh (talk) 23:57, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Now updated. Again, you might have to clear cache to see the updated map. Jfruh (talk) 00:13, 22 August 2023 (UTC)

Indiana Abortion Ban

While the conception ban in Indiana has been blocked, no abortion providers are currently open for abortion services in the state. The page should be edited to reflect the new changes by making the state grey like Wisconsin. Last Opp (talk) 01:54, 8 August 2023 (UTC)

Can you provide any links with info on this? I'm sure you're right -- Indiana's Planned Parenthood site says they're not offering abortion services, for instance -- but I can't find any news stories or anything saying definitively that no clinics are performing abortions. --Jfruh (talk) 22:22, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Indiana’s ban went into effect today, someone should update it. JesusIsLord444 (talk) 17:36, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Updated the text and the map. You may need to clear cache to see the updated map. Jfruh (talk) 17:45, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

No non-hospital clinics are providing abortion services.

Providers performing abortions in hospitals are exempt under the new law, and marketplace health insurers are now mandated to expand coverage to include those abortions. Pimprncess (talk) 16:49, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

Recent tweaks

Hey all! I just did a fairly extensive set of tweaks to the state-by-state section. I didn't really change much content, but my goals were to:

• Rewrite the intro to this section to reflect the post-Dobbs landscape and explain the technical meaning of the "weeks" terminology we use throughout the page.
• Begin each state's section with a succinct one- or two-sentence description of the most important information about current legal status in that state:
  • Whether it's generally legal or illegal
  • If generally legal, up to how many weeks
  • If generally illegal, what exceptions if any are allowed
  • Whether there are more restrictive regulations currently blocked by litigation
• Standardize some of the terminology we use
• Update some material that is obviously out-of-date; prune some material that is no longer relevant, like legislative initiatives that haven't panned out

The whole section could definitely use some more updates or pruning -- I only added stuff that I happened to know about off the top of my head. For the most part I just rearranged the content that was already there. May add or delete more material later. I also think the stuff on DC and the territories should probably just be integrated into the larger state list, since in this area territorial/DC legislation functionally has the same impacts as in the states.--Jfruh (talk) 21:52, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Did you remove the Iowa border? Iowa has a heartbeat bill currently blocked until their Supreme Court decides it. Not sure why the border was removed. JesusIsLord444 (talk) 17:43, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

See the reference in the article. The Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked on the issue, letting the lower court ruling that blocked the law stand. This effectively ends the legal process for this piece of legislation. If the legislature passes a new law, which it well may, we can update, but that one is finished. --Jfruh (talk) 17:44, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

The legislature did pass a new law in Iowa that’s essentially identical. That’s why I brought it up. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/17/iowa-fetal-heartbeat-abortion-law-court-ruling-temporary-injunction-kim-reynolds-pregnancy/70420027007/ JesusIsLord444 (talk) 19:19, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Ah got it thank you. I'll update this and Montana today when I get a moment (or feel free to do it yourself if you have the time for it). Jfruh (talk) 20:38, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

When to put an outline around a state on the map

I mentioned this in a couple replies above to @JesusIsLord444 but I wanted to give the topic its own section so people could chime in. Basically, I was trying to figure out how we should approach the colored outlines around states representing restrictions currently being challenged in court, as at this point all of these challenges are playing out in state courts. My thought was that once the legal process around a proposed restriction has played out in state court to its conclusion, we would take the outline off, because the law at that point has either been implemented or is permanently voided. My understanding is that this dynamic is a little different from the pre-Roe situation where state laws at variance with Roe were still "on the books" and came into play once Dobbs went into effect. Obviously we need to be on the lookout for new legislation being passed (as was the case in, e.g., South Carolina) but in general, I think that if a state passes a restriction that is subsequently exhausts its appeals throughout the state's court system, that isn't enough to keep the outline on the map. --Jfruh (talk) 19:10, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

TN passed law with limited exceptions

The article needs to be updated for this 50.83.52.10 (talk) 03:06, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing this out -- I updated the section. Jfruh (talk) 06:02, 15 September 2023 (UTC)

Map is locked on commons; can someone help?

The map for this article ([1]) has been locked over on Wikimedia -- not sure why. Can someone unlock or update? Wisconsin and Montana both need updates. Jfruh (talk) 17:53, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

Changing the map

Ohio just passed Issue 1 today—should we update the map to have a 24 week LMP instead of the red border for an injunction on the heartbeat bill? Dancingtudorqueen (talk) 05:37, 8 November 2023 (UTC)

I puut in a request to update the map on Wikimedia commons. Would be great to get that file unlocked. Technically the new las doesn't go into effect until next month but with the six-week law enjoined it seems silly to wait to update the map. --Jfruh (talk) 09:11, 8 November 2023 (UTC)

Ohio

Shouldn't Ohio be the Viability colour instead of the 22 week colour? TRJ2008 (talk) 19:21, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

No, because the 22 week ban hasn’t been overturned in court. It’s still the law there. It’s very possible that law won’t be overturned either, depending on how the courts decide to act JesusIsLord444 (talk) 04:30, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

Washington

Quote: "Abortion is explicitly legal in Washington up to the point of fetal viability, although there is no law prohibiting it afterwards."

I'm not sure what exactly does that mean... ? What does Washington state law say when it comes to abortion later in pregnancy? 41.66.99.246 (talk) 11:42, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

It means abortion is legal, because what's not illegal is legal.

But according to our state article that's not true. There are two codes, RCW 9.02.110, which allows abortion "prior to viability", and RCW 9.02.120, which makes any other abortion a Class C felony. — kwami (talk) 07:30, 15 April 2024 (UTC)