State Laws and Policies
As of September 18, 2025

Emergency Contraception
The information provided on this website is not intended to, and does not, constitute legal advice. All information, content and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. We encourage anyone with legal questions to contact a licensed attorney.

This fact sheet was written by Talia Curhan and Mollie Fairbanks. It was edited by Ian Lague.

Emergency contraception (EC) can prevent pregnancy when taken shortly after unprotected sex. Access to emergency contraception has been expanding in recent years. Many states mandate that hospitals provide emergency contraception or information about EC to people who have been sexually assaulted. Some states have expanded access to emergency contraception by expanding insurance coverage of EC, by allowing pharmacists to prescribe EC, or by requiring public colleges to make EC available to students. Although all methods of contraception have been under attack following the Dobbs decision in 2022, opponents of sexual and reproductive rights have long targeted emergency contraception. Refusal clauses, which allow clinicians, pharmacists, medical institutions and insurers to refuse to participate in care provision, often focus on emergency contraception. Some of these clauses do not single out emergency contraception but allow refusal for any type of care. 

Highlights

32 states and the District of Columbia have policies that protect or restrict access to emergency contraception.  

  • 22 states and DC require hospital emergency departments and other health care facilities to provide information about emergency contraception to survivors of sexual assault.
  • 17 states and DC require emergency departments and other health care facilities to dispense emergency contraception upon request to survivors of sexual assault.
  • 14 states allow pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception without a prescription.
  • 8 states and DC explicitly include emergency contraception in the state’s contraceptive coverage requirement.  
  • 2 states explicitly exclude emergency contraception from the state’s contraceptive coverage requirement.
  • 5 states require public colleges and universities to facilitate student access to emergency contraception through provision or referrals.
  • 14 states have refusal clauses that allow medical providers, institutions or insurers to refuse to dispense or cover emergency contraceptives. 
     
Citations for Emergency Contraception Citations for Emergency Contraception_9.18.2025.xlsx

For more information

Topic

United States

Geography

Visit our state legislation tracker

Go
Emergency Contraception
JurisdictionEmergency depts./health care facilities must provide info to survivorsEmergency depts./health care facilities must dispense to survivors upon requestPharmacists may dispense without prescriptionExplicitly included in contraceptive coverage requirementExplicitly excluded from contraceptive coverage requirementColleges and universities must provide access and/or referralRefusal allowed
Arizona  X   X (by pharmacy, hospital or health professional, or any employee of a pharmacy, hospital or health professional)
ArkansasX   X X (by physician, pharmacist, or authorized paramedical personnel)
CaliforniaXXX  XX (by licensed health care provider)
ColoradoX XX  X (by health care professional at hospital/health facility)
ConnecticutXXX    
District of ColumbiaXX X (Medicaid/DC Health Alliance only)   
Delaware   X XX (by providers or institutions, not specific to EC)
HawaiiXXX (under collaborative practice agreement)*   X (by providers or institutions, not specific to EC)
IllinoisXX   XX (by physicians, health care personnel, not specific to EC)
LouisianaXX (requires negative pregnancy test)    X (by any person involved in health care, not specific to EC)
Maine  X (collaborative practice agreement*)   X (by pharmacist)
Maryland   X (only managed care organizations†) X 
MassachusettsXXXX   
Michigan  X    
MinnesotaXX     
NevadaXX X   
New Hampshire  X    
New JerseyXX     
New MexicoXXXX  X (by provider or institution, not specific to EC)
New YorkXX X  X (by providers, private hospitals, not specific to EC)
North Carolina    X  
OhioX      
OregonXXX    
PennsylvaniaXX    X (by hospitals)
South Carolina X     
Tennessee      X (by private institution or physician, or any agent or employee of such institution or physician can refuse to provide any type of contraception)
TexasX      
UtahXX     
Vermont  X  X 
VirginiaX X    
WashingtonXXXX  X (by providers, insurers, facilities, not specific to EC)
West VirginiaX      
WisconsinXX (not required in case of positive pregnancy test)     
TOTAL (32 + DC)22 + DC17 + DC148 + DC2514

*Collaborative practice agreements are formal agreements between pharmacists and physicians that allow pharmacists to provide services normally outside their scope of practice.

†Managed care organizations, in this context, refer to health maintenance organizations or corporations that receive medical assistance payments, as well as corporations that enroll only state CHIP recipients.

 

Suggested citation: Guttmacher Institute, Emergency contraception, State Laws and Policies (as of September 2025), 2025, https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/emergency-contraception.

Get updates on policy issues and more

Sign Up