The Late-Term Abortion Law: Exploring The Controversial Legislation

Abortion laws vary widely across the world, with some countries banning the procedure entirely, while others allow it without restriction. In the United States, the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade gave individual states the power to regulate abortion laws, with varying gestational limits and exceptions. While most abortions occur before the 13th week of pregnancy, a small percentage happen later, and the legality of these late-term abortions has become a highly controversial topic. Notably, a few states, including New Jersey, have no restrictions on abortion, allowing the procedure to be carried out up to 40 weeks after conception. This has sparked intense debates and efforts to change these laws.

The impact on marginalised groups

The impact of abortion laws disproportionately affects marginalised groups. Marginalised groups face compounding barriers to obtaining an abortion, including criminalisation, social stigma, and intersectional discrimination.

Health-Related Factors

Abortion bans will increase maternal mortality, particularly for Black mothers, who are more than twice as likely to die in childbirth as their White counterparts. Abortion restrictions will also increase the risk of unsafe abortions, which are the third leading cause of preventable maternal deaths worldwide.

Financial Factors

Marginalised groups, especially those from low-income backgrounds, may not be able to afford to travel to another country or state to receive care. This will force them to seek other solutions, including travelling to places where abortions are still legal, which may be cost-prohibitive.

Education and Career Factors

Carrying a pregnancy to term can disrupt educational plans and change someone's career trajectory, compounding disadvantages for already marginalised groups.

Systemic Racism

Historical racism worsens poverty today for Black populations in southern states, and a wider poverty gap between Black and White populations exists in these places. Issues like abortion laws will make the problem worse.

Stigma

Even in countries where abortion is legal, it might be difficult to access because of factors like cost, distance to services, social stigma, or religiously reinforced conservative attitudes.

Gestational limits

The gestational limits of abortions vary across different states in the US. While some states have imposed bans at specific weeks of pregnancy, others have no term restrictions.

Bans at 6 weeks

Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Iowa have banned abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy. This is typically when cardiac activity is first detected in an embryo.

Bans at 12 weeks

Nebraska and North Carolina ban abortions at the 12-week mark.

Bans at 15 weeks

Arizona and Florida ban abortions at 15 weeks.

Bans at 18 weeks

Eight states, including Utah, ban abortions at or before 18 weeks of gestation.

Bans at 20 weeks

Iowa bans abortions starting at 20 weeks post-fertilization.

Bans at 22 weeks

Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin ban abortions at 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Bans at 24 weeks

Four states ban abortions at 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Bans in the third trimester

Virginia is the only state that prohibits abortions in the third trimester, which starts at around 25 weeks.

No gestational limit

Six states and Washington, D.C., do not impose any term restrictions on abortions.

Viability

The term "viability" refers to the point at which a foetus can survive outside the uterus, which is generally considered to be between 24 and 28 weeks after a patient's last menstrual period. This period can also be calculated from the point of fertilization/conception, which is typically around 24 to 26 weeks.

The concept of viability is crucial in the abortion debate, as many statutory bans define limits on abortion based on this concept. Before the Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, states could regulate abortion after viability. However, following the ruling, states were given the power to individually regulate abortion or even ban it completely before viability.

Currently, more than a dozen states ban abortions after the fetus is considered viable. The specific laws vary; some do not specify a limit and leave it to the abortion provider's judgment to determine viability. This lack of a specified limit can create uncertainty and challenges for providers, who must be cautious to avoid violating the law.

The battle over abortion access and the specific legalities and limits of the procedure continues in many states. The Supreme Court's ruling has resulted in a deeply uneven abortion landscape across the country, with access to abortion clinics varying significantly from state to state.

Health exceptions

In most states with health exceptions, abortions are permitted when there is a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. However, the lack of specific clinical definitions of qualifying conditions makes it difficult for physicians to know whether a particular health issue warrants an abortion. For example, in South Carolina, the law lists severe pre-eclampsia and uterine rupture as qualifying conditions but provides no further detail.

Some states, like Georgia, have more restrictive health exceptions that do not permit abortions to prevent substantial but reversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, or less than 'substantial' but irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.

Mental health conditions are rarely included in health exceptions, despite accounting for over 20% of pregnancy-related deaths in the US. Alabama is the only state that includes mental health concerns in its health exception, requiring a diagnosis of a "serious mental illness". Several other states explicitly exclude mental and emotional health from their health exceptions.

The vagueness and narrowness of health exceptions create difficulties for physicians, who may be reluctant to provide abortion care when patients present with serious medical conditions. This delay in care creates greater and avoidable risks to the health of the pregnant person.

State-by-state legal battles

In June 2022, the Supreme Court's ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade gave states the power to regulate abortion or even ban it completely. This has resulted in a variety of gestational limits on the procedure across the country.

As of October 2024, 14 states have laws in effect banning nearly all abortions starting at fertilization. These states are:

• Florida
• South Carolina
• Georgia
• Nebraska
• North Carolina
• Arizona
• Florida
• Utah
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Ohio
• Wisconsin

Six states and Washington, D.C., do not impose any term restrictions. These are:

• California
• Illinois
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• Vermont

Some states have passed laws making it more difficult to access medication abortions, despite the federal government loosening restrictions.

In the wake of Roe's overturning, some states have reacted by enacting measures to protect abortion access. Kansas was the first, with 59% of voters rejecting a proposed constitutional amendment that would have paved the way for abortion bans. Voters in Michigan, California, and Vermont have also voted to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions. In early 2023, the Minnesota legislature became the first to pass a bill guaranteeing the right to abortion.

Indiana and West Virginia were the first states to pass new laws fully banning abortion. Georgia, historically a hub of abortion access in the South, has enacted a six-week ban.

The future of abortion laws

Abortion-related issues are a topic for the 2024 United States elections, with several states voting on the matter.

Frequently asked questions