Will Life Be Protected in My State When Roe v. Wade Is Overturned?

Americans United for Life has developed this list to inform Americans across all 50 states what the fight for life will look like when Roe is overturned. To view current bills that are active in each state, you can also see AUL’s Pro-Life State Legislative Tracker.

Yes, Due to a Pre-Roe Statute, Conditional Law, or Heartbeat Limitation Life Will Be Protected in the Following States:

Alabama 

  • Pre-Roe statute (Ala. Code § 13A-13-7) 
  • The state constitution affirms public policy is to protect unborn life (Ala. Const. art. I, § 36.06) 
  • Abortion prohibited with exceptions for life, “to avert serious risk of substantial physical impairment of a major bodily function,” and specific mental health circumstances (Ala. Code §§ 26-23H-1 to -8; temporarily enjoined as applied to pre-viability abortions) 

Arizona 

  • Pre-Roe statute (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-3603) 

Arkansas 

  • Pre-Roe statute (Ark. Code Ann. § 5-61-102) 
  • Conditional law (Ark. Code Ann. §§ 5-61-301 to -304) 
  • The state constitution affirms public policy is to protect unborn life (Ark. Const. amend. 68, § 2) 
  • Abortion prohibited with an exception for life (Ark. Code Ann. § 5-61-404; temporarily enjoined) 

Georgia  

  • Heartbeat law (Ga. Code Ann. § 16-12-141; enjoined, stayed pending Dobbs) 

Idaho

  • Conditional law (Idaho Code § 18-622) 
  • Conditional heartbeat law (Idaho Code §§ 18-8801 to -8808) 

Kentucky1 

  • Conditional law (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 311.772) 
  • Heartbeat law (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 311.7705; temporarily enjoined) 

Louisiana 

  • Conditional law (La. Stat. § 40:1061) 
  • Conditional heartbeat law (La. Stat. § 40:1061.1.3) 

Michigan 

  • Pre-Roe statute (Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 750.14, 750.323) 

Mississippi2 

  • Pre-Roe statute (Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-3) 
  • Conditional law (Miss. Code Ann. § 41-41-45) 
  • Heartbeat law (Miss. Code Ann. § 41-41-34.1; temporarily enjoined) 

Missouri 

  • Conditional law (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.017) 
  • Eight-week limitation (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 188.056; temporarily enjoined) 

North Dakota 

  • Conditional law (N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-31-12) 
  • Heartbeat law (N.D. Cent. Code § 14-02.1-05.2; permanently enjoined) 

Ohio 

  • Heartbeat law (Ohio Rev. Code § 2919.195; temporarily enjoined) 

Oklahoma 

  • Pre-Roe statute (Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 861) 
  • Statutes regulating abortion will be repealed upon certification by the Attorney General that Roe v. Wade is overturned or that the U.S. Constitution is amended to restore State authority to prohibit abortion (S.B. 918, 2021 Reg. Sess. (Okla. 2021)) 
  • Heartbeat law (Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 1-731.3; temporarily enjoined) 
  • Complete ban with exceptions for life or “to prevent substantial or irreversible physical impairment” (Okla. Stat. tit. 59, § 509; temporarily enjoined)
  • In 2022, Oklahoma enacted legislation preventing abortion from conception and strengthening the existing conditional law (HB 4327, SB 612, and SB 1555).

South Carolina 

  • Heartbeat law (S.C. Code §§ 44-41-610 to -740; temporarily enjoined) 

South Dakota 

  • Conditional law (S.D. Codified Laws § 22-17-5.1) 

Tennessee 

  • Conditional law (Tenn. Code § 39-15-213) 
  • There is no right to abortion in the state constitution (Tenn. Const. art. I, § 36) 
  • Heartbeat law (Tenn. Code § 39-15-216; temporarily enjoined) 

Texas 

  • Pre-Roe statute (Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. arts. 4512.1 to .4, .6) 
  • Conditional law (H.B. 1280, 87th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Tex. 2021); to be codified at Tex. Health & Safety Code §§ 170A.001 to .007) 
  • Heartbeat law (Tex. Health & Safety Code §§ 171.201 to .212) 

Utah 

  • Conditional law (Utah Code Ann. § 76-7a-201) 
  • Abortion prohibited with exceptions for life or a “serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” (Utah Code Ann. § 76-7-302; permanently enjoined) 

West Virginia 

  • Pre-Roe statute (W. Va. Code § 61-2-8) 
  • There is no right to abortion in the state constitution (W. Va. Const. art. VI, § 57) 

Wisconsin 

  • Pre-Roe statute (Wis. Stat. § 940.04)

Wyoming

  • Conditional law (H.B. 92, 66th Leg., Budget Sess. (Wyo. 2022))

Yes, Life Will Be Protected, but Only After Five Months of Pregnancy in These States:

Florida 

  • Abortion legal up to 15 weeks with exceptions for the life of the mother and major bodily harm (HB 5 enacted in 2022)
  • The right to abortion is protected by the state constitution (In re T.W., 551 So. 2d 1186 (Fla. 1989))

Indiana 

  • Ind. Code § 16-34-2-1(a)(2) 

Iowa 

  • Iowa Code § 146B.2 
  • Iowa Code § 146C.2 (heartbeat law; permanently enjoined) 
  • The Iowa Supreme Court created a right to abortion in the state constitution (Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Reynolds ex rel. State, 915 N.W.2d 206 (Iowa 2018)) 

Kansas 

  • Kan. Stat. Ann. § 65-6724 
  • The right to abortion is protected by the state constitution (Hodes & Nauser, MDS, P.A. v. Schmidt, 440 P.3d 461 (Kan. 2019))3 

Montana 

  • Abortion legal up through when the unborn child is “capable of feeling pain” (Mont. Code § 50-20-109) 
  • 20-week limitation (Mont. Code §§ 50-20-601 to -603; temporarily enjoined) 
  • The right to abortion is protected by the state constitution (Mont. Const. art. II, § 10; Armstrong v. State, 989 P.2d 364 (Mont. 1999)) 

Nebraska 

  • Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-3,102 to 3,111

No, Abortion Will Be Legal up Through Fetal Viability or Throughout Pregnancy in These States:4 

Alaska 

  • Abortion legal throughout pregnancy (no statutory limitations) 
  • The right to abortion is protected by the state constitution (Valley Hosp. Ass’n, Inc. v. Mat-Su Coal. for Choice, 948 P.2d 963 (Alaska 1997))

California 

  • Abortion legal up to viability with exceptions for life and health (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 123468) 
  • The right to abortion is protected by the state constitution (Cal. Const. art. I § 1; Comm. to Defend Reprod. Rights v. Myers, 625 P.2d 779 (Cal. 1981)) 
  • Statutory protection for the right to abortion up to viability or for life and health (Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 123462 to 123468) 

Colorado 

  • Abortion legal throughout pregnancy by statute (HB 22-1279, enacted in 2022)

Connecticut 

  • Abortion legal up to viability with exceptions for life and health (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-602(b)) 

Delaware 

  • Abortion legal up to viability with exceptions for life and health, and fetal anomaly without a “reasonable likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without extraordinary medical measures” (Del. Code tit. 24 § 1790(b)) 

District of Columbia 

  • Abortion legal throughout pregnancy (no statutory limitations) 
  • Statutory protection for the right to abortion throughout pregnancy (D.C. Code § 2-1401.06)

Hawaii 

  • Abortion legal up to viability with exceptions for life and health (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 453-16(b)) 
  • Statutory protection for the right to abortion up to viability or for life and health (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 453-16(c)) 

Illinois 

  • Abortion legal up to viability with exceptions for life and health (775 Ill. Comp. Stat. 55/1-25(a)) 
  • Statutory protection for the right to abortion throughout pregnancy (775 Ill. Comp. Stat. 55/1-15) 

Maine 

  • Abortion legal up to viability with exceptions for life and health (Me. Stat. tit. 22 § 1598) 

Maryland 

  • Abortion legal up to viability with exceptions for life and health, and if the fetus has a “genetic defect or serious deformity or abnormality” (Md. Code, Health-Gen. § 20-209) 

Massachusetts 

  • Abortion legal up to 24 weeks with exceptions for life, physical or mental health, or “a lethal fetal anomaly or the fetus is incompatible with sustained life outside the uterus” (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 112 § 12N) 
  • The right to abortion is protected by the state constitution (Moe v. Sec’y of Admin. & Fin., 417 N.E.2d 387 (Mass. 1981)) 
  • Statutory protection for the right to abortion (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 112 § 12L) 

Minnesota 

  • Abortion legal throughout pregnancy (Hodgson v. Lawson, 542 F.2d 1350 (8th Cir. 1976)5) 
  • The right to abortion is protected by the state constitution (Minn. Const. art. I, §§ 1, 2, 10 (per Jarvis v. Levine, 418 N.W.2d 139 (Minn. 1988) and Minn. Const. art. I, § 7; The Women of the State of Minn. v. Gomez, 542 N.W.2d 17 (Minn. 1995)) 

Nevada 

  • Abortion legal up to 24 weeks with exceptions for life and health6 (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 442.250(1)(b)–(c))7 

New Hampshire 

  • Abortion legal up to 24 weeks with exceptions for life “endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or when continuation of the pregnancy will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” (N.H. Rev. Stat. § 329:44) 

New Jersey 

  • Abortion legal throughout pregnancy (no statutory limitations) 
  • The right to abortion is protected by the state constitution (N.J. Const. Art. I, par. 1; Right to Choose v. Byrne, 450 A.2d 925 (N.J. 1982)) 
  • Statutory protection for abortion throughout pregnancy (S.B. 49, 219th Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.J. 2022)) 

New Mexico 

  • Abortion legal throughout pregnancy (no statutory limitations) 

New York 

  • Abortion legal up to 24 weeks with exceptions for the “absence of fetal viability,” and life or health (N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 2599-BB) 
  • Statutory protection for abortion (N.Y. Pub. Health Law §§ 2599-AA) 

North Carolina  

  • Abortion legal up to viability with exceptions for life and “serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, not including any psychological or emotional conditions” (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-45.1; Bryant v. Woodall, 363 F. Supp. 3d 611 (M.D.N.C. 2019)) 
  • 20-week limitation (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-45.1(a); permanently enjoined) 

Oregon 

  • Abortion legal throughout pregnancy (no statutory limitations) 
  • Statutory protection for abortion throughout pregnancy (Or. Rev. Stat. § 659.880) 

Pennsylvania 

  • Abortion legal up at least to 24 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for life and the “substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” (18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3211) 

Rhode Island 

  • Abortion legal up to viability with exceptions for life and health (23 R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-4.13-2(d)) 
  • Statutory protection for abortion up to viability with exceptions for life and health (R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 23-4.13-1 to -2) 

Vermont 

  • Abortion legal throughout pregnancy (no statutory limitation) 
  • Statutory protection for abortion throughout pregnancy (Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 18, §§ 9493 to 9494) 

Virginia 

  • Abortion legal up to the third trimester with exceptions for life or if it would “substantially and irremediably impair the mental or physical health of the woman” (Va. Code § 18.2-74) 

Washington 

  • Abortion legal up to viability with exceptions for life and health (Wash. Rev. Code § 9.02.110) 
  • Statutory protection for abortion up to viability with exceptions for life and health (Wash. Rev. Code §§ 9.02.100 to .110)

Footnotes

1. In 2022, Kentucky voters will have the opportunity to include the right to life in the state constitution (H.B. 91).

 2. The Mississippi Supreme Court may have created a right to abortion in the state constitution (Pro-Choice Mississippi v. Fordice, 716 So. 2d 645 (Miss. 1998)). However, it upheld the challenged statutes, rendering the language in question dictum.

3. In 2022, Kansas voters will have the opportunity to affirm there is no right to abortion in the Kansas constitution (H.C.R. 5003).

4. “Health” has been broadly interpreted to include mental health. “[M]edical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors—physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age—relevant to the wellbeing of the patient. All these factors may relate to health.” Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 192 (1973). Therefore, a state’s undefined “health” exception can be interpreted broadly.

5. Hodgson, in part, struck down the section of Minnesota’s statute that limited abortion to when the fetus is “potentially viable” with exceptions for life and health (Minn. Stat. § 145.412, subd. 3(2)). The only requirement related to “potentially viable” fetuses that stands from this subdivision is that the abortion be performed in a hospital.

6. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 442.250(3) includes mental health.

7. This was approved by referendum in the 1990 general election and therefore cannot be legislatively amended or appealed.

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