The landscape of US abortion law has been revealed in a DailyMail.com interactive map.
More than 17 states — mostly in the South — have enacted abortion bans that prohibit virtually all procedures, as the law only permits it before the six week mark — when most women aren’t aware they are pregnant.
At the other end of the scale, nine states — Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico Oregon and Vermont — place no legal restrictions on abortions.
Meanwhile, 18 states allow abortion up to 26 weeks, or just shy of six months. However, most doctors will not perform them after 21 weeks unless there is a serious medical reason.
At around 24 weeks, some healthy fetuses can survive outside of the womb.
The above map shows states by their abortion restrictions. It reveals a divide along party lines and regions, with the South being most likely to restrict abortions
The surge in legislation came after the overturn of Roe v Wade — the landmark 1973 legal case that protected the right of women in every state to have an abortion until 2022.
Despite the shift, data suggests abortions in the US are rising — and last year hit their highest level since 2014.
A total of one million abortions were estimated to have been carried out in 2023, an 11 percent increase since 2020. However this figure is still lower than the all-time high set in 1990, of 1.6million in a year.
Experts say the recent increase has been fueled by the introduction of rules that allowed for abortion-inducing pills to be sent to patients via post, without the need for an appointment with a physician.
The move came about in December 2021 in response to the pandemic, which stopped Americans from being able to access in-person healthcare.
The medications are only available on prescription and must be taken in the first ten weeks of pregnancy.
In an early-stage medication abortion, patients take two drugs; mifepristone, and then a second drug called misoprostol about 24 to 48 hours later.
More than nine in ten abortions carried out in the US take place before week 13, with less than one percent happening after week 21. A typical pregnancy lasts for 40 weeks.
Doctors say abortions are only rarely performed after the 21 week mark, and normally only take place after this point due to fetal anomalies or if the mother’s life is in danger.
Critics say that abortion bans below six weeks are too early for women to find out they are pregnant and take action (Picture of abortion-rights protect in Washington in March)
Data suggests abortions are rising in the US, with a million carried out in 2023 – the latest year available – the most since 2014
Abortion restrictions by state were revealed by the Guttmacher Institute, a New York City-based think-tank which campaigns for greater abortion access.
Researchers compiled information on abortion limits by state via news reports and legislation within each state’s house and senate.
The map shows a major division in abortion along party lines — with Democrat states mostly protecting abortion up to 24 weeks and Republican states mostly seeking to ban it altogether.
Southern states, where those making legislation tend to be more religious, are much more likely to virtually ban abortion compared to other areas.
One of the most restrictive states was Alabama, where abortions are virtually impossible — banned from the moment an egg is fertilized.
Many other Republican states — including Arkansas, Mississippi and North Dakota — also follow this rule.
Others included Florida, South Carolina and Georgia, which have put in place a six-week abortion ban.
This is based on claims that a fetal heartbeat can be detected from six weeks, although doctors say a developing embryo doesn’t actually have a heart at this point.
It is unclear at what point exactly a heart starts to beat.
On the other hand, laws are much less restrictive in states like Oregon — where legislators have placed no restriction on ‘abortion based on gestational age’ — instead leaving it to doctors to make a judgement call.
Three US states — Arizona, Nebraska and North Carolina — also set the abortion limit at 12 to 15 weeks — which they argue gives women enough time after finding out they are pregnant to take action.
Utah is currently the only state with an abortion ban from 18 weeks of pregnancy, which was settled on by lawmakers.
And Kansas and Ohio have set earlier limits of 22 weeks, which they say is when a fetus is viable outside the womb.
Some US states often compare their laws to Europe, pointing to countries like the UK and the Netherlands which allow abortions up to 24 weeks on the basis that this is when a fetus becomes viable outside the womb.
But these nations are outliers in the continent, with most — including France and Germany — setting an abortion limit at 12 to 15 weeks.
This does come with multiple medical exceptions, however, including for fetal malformations, harm to mother’s health and psychological or economic distress.
