Laws and policies on abortion have been changing rapidly across the United States since the US Supreme Court overturned the federal constitutional right to abortion in late June in Dobbs v. Jackson. As a result, some information here may be out of date. Our team is working diligently to update this resource. Thank you for your patience.
Every state requires that a patient consent before undergoing medical treatment and that the consent be “informed.” Three interrelated elements underlie the long-standing tradition of informed consent: Patients must possess the capacity to make decisions about their care; their participation in these decisions must be voluntary; and they must be provided adequate and appropriate information. However, abortion counseling requirements sometimes run afoul of these principles by requiring information that is irrelevant or misleading.
In addition to abortion counseling requirements, many states require that at least 24 hours elapse between counseling and an abortion. In states in which counseling must be received in person (rather than via mail, fax, Internet or phone) and patients must wait a specified time period afterwards, they are effectively required to make two trips in order to obtain an abortion, a requirement that can be a hardship for some people. Moreover, several states also mandate when and how an ultrasound is performed prior to an abortion (see Requirements for Ultrasound).
Abortion Counseling & Waiting Periods |
||||||||||
STATE |
Length of Waiting Period (in hours) |
In-Person Counseling Necessitates Two Trips to Clinic |
Written Materials Given or Offered |
Patient Informed that Abortion Cannot Be Coerced |
Description of Procedure |
Fetal Development |
Ability of a Fetus to Feel Pain |
Personhood Begins at Conception |
||
Specific |
All Common |
Gestational Age of Fetus |
Throughout Pregnancy |
|||||||
States with Detailed Abortion-Specific Informed Consent Requirements (29 states) |
||||||||||
Alabama |
48 |
|
Given |
V,W |
V |
W |
V |
W |
|
|
Alaska |
|
|
Offered |
|
V |
W |
V |
W |
W* |
|
Arizona |
24 |
X |
Offered |
V,W |
V |
W |
V |
W |
|
|
Arkansas |
72 |
X |
Offered |
V,W |
V |
W |
V |
W |
V†,W |
|
Florida |
24 |
X |
Offered |
|
V |
|
V |
W |
|
|
Georgia |
24 |
|
Offered |
|
|
W |
V |
W |
W |
|
Idaho |
24 |
|
Given |
W |
V |
W |
|
W |
|
|
Indiana |
18 |
X |
Given |
|
V |
W |
V |
W |
V‡ |
V |
Iowa |
24 |
X |
Offered |
|
V |
V,W |
|
|
|
|
Kansas |
24 |
|
Given |
W |
V |
W |
V |
W |
W |
W |
KentuckyЭ |
24 |
X |
Offered |
|
V |
|
V |
W |
|
|
Louisiana |
24s |
X |
Given |
W |
V |
W |
V |
W |
V,W |
|
Massachusetts |
▼ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michigan |
24 |
|
Given |
V,W |
V,W |
|
V,W |
W |
|
|
Mississippi |
24 |
X |
Offered |
|
V |
W* |
V |
W |
|
|
Missouri |
72 |
X |
Given |
W |
V,W |
W |
V,W |
W |
W† |
W |
Montana |
▼ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nebraska |
24 |
|
Offered |
|
|
W |
V |
W |
|
|
North Carolina |
72 |
|
Offered |
V |
V |
W |
V |
W |
|
|
North Dakota |
24 |
|
Offered |
W |
|
W |
V |
W |
|
V |
Ohio |
24 |
X |
Given |
|
V |
|
V |
W |
|
|
Oklahoma |
72 |
|
Offered |
|
V |
W |
V |
W |
V†,W |
W |
Pennsylvania |
24 |
|
Offered |
W |
V |
W |
V |
W |
|
|
South Carolina |
24 |
|
Offered |
|
V |
W |
V |
W |
|
|
South Dakota |
72Ω |
X |
Given |
V |
|
W |
V |
W |
W* |
|
TennesseeΨ |
48▼ |
X▼ |
|
|
|
|
V |
|
|
|
Texas |
24 |
Xξ |
Offered |
W* |
|
W* |
V |
W |
W* |
|
UtahЭ |
72 |
XЭ |
Given |
W |
V |
W |
V |
W |
V†,W |
|
West Virginia |
24 |
|
Offered |
W* |
|
W |
V |
W |
|
|
Wisconsin |
24 |
X |
Given |
V,W |
V |
W |
V |
W |
W* |
|
States with Customary Informed Consent Provisions (4 states) |
||||||||||
Connecticut |
|
|
|
|
V |
|
V |
|
|
|
Maine |
|
|
|
|
V |
|
V |
|
|
|
Nevada |
|
|
|
|
V |
|
V |
|
|
|
Rhode Island |
|
|
|
|
V |
|
V |
|
|
|
TOTAL |
27 |
15 |
27 |
16 |
25 |
23 |
30 |
26 |
12 |
5 |
Notes: V=verbal counseling; W=written materials.
|
Abortion Counseling & Waiting Periods |
||||||||
STATE |
INACCURATE INFORMATION ON REVERSING MEDICATION ABORTION |
COUNSELING ON HEALTH RISKS OF ABORTION |
COUNSELING ON HEALTH RISKS OF PREGNANCY |
|||||
|
Future Fertility |
Breast Cancer |
Mental Health |
|||||
|
Accurately Portrays Risk |
Inaccurately Portrays Risk |
Correctly Reports No Link |
Inaccurately Asserts Possible Link |
Correctly Reports Range of Emotional Responses |
Describes Negative Emotional Responses |
||
States with Detailed Abortion-Specific Informed Consent Requirements (31 states) |
||||||||
Alabama |
|
|
|
|
|
W† |
|
W |
Alaska |
|
W† |
|
|
W† |
W |
|
W |
Arizona |
|
|
W† |
|
|
W |
|
V,W |
Arkansas |
X |
W† |
|
|
|
W |
|
V,W |
Florida |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
V |
Georgia |
|
W† |
|
|
|
W |
|
V,W |
Idaho |
X |
V |
|
|
|
W† |
|
V,W† |
Indiana |
s |
V, W |
|
|
|
|
|
V,W |
Iowa |
|
W |
|
|
|
W |
|
V,W |
Kansas |
|
|
W† |
|
W |
|
W |
V,W |
Kentucky |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
V |
Louisiana |
X |
W† |
|
|
W |
|
W |
V,W |
Michigan |
|
W |
|
|
|
|
W |
V,W |
Mississippi |
|
V,W |
|
V |
|
W† |
|
V,W |
Missouri |
|
V,W |
|
|
|
V,W |
|
|
Nebraska |
X |
V,W† |
|
|
|
|
W |
V,W |
North Carolina |
|
|
|
|
|
|
W |
V,W |
North Dakota |
s |
V |
|
|
|
|
|
V |
Ohio |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
V |
Oklahoma |
s |
W† |
|
|
W† |
W |
|
V,W |
Pennsylvania |
|
W† |
|
|
|
W |
|
V,W |
South Carolina |
|
|
|
|
|
W |
|
W |
South Dakota |
X |
V,W† |
|
|
|
W |
V,W† |
|
Tennessee |
s |
|
|
|
|
|
|
V |
Texas |
|
V |
W |
V |
W |
|
W† |
V,W |
Utah |
X |
W |
|
|
|
W |
|
V,W |
West Virginia |
X |
V |
|
|
|
|
W |
V,W |
Wisconsin |
|
V,W |
|
|
|
V,W |
|
V,W |
States with Customary Informed Consent Provisions (2 states) |
||||||||
Maine |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
V |
Nevada |
|
|
|
|
|
Ф |
|
|
TOTAL |
8 |
19 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
13 |
8 |
27 |
|