| Guttmacher Institute

Abortion Counseling & Waiting Periods
STATE	Length of Waiting Period (in hours)	In-Person Counseling Necessitates Two Trips to Clinic	Written Materials Given or Offered	Woman Informed that Abortion Cannot Be Coerced	Description of Procedure		Fetal Development		Ability of a Fetus to Feel Pain	Personhood Begins at Conception
STATE	Length of Waiting Period (in hours)	In-Person Counseling Necessitates Two Trips to Clinic	Written Materials Given or Offered	Woman Informed that Abortion Cannot Be Coerced	Specific	All Common	Gestational Age of Fetus	Throughout Pregnancy	Ability of a Fetus to Feel Pain	Personhood Begins at Conception
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	48	X	Offered	V,W		W	V	W	V^†,W
Florida	§	§	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,W
Kansas	24		Given	W	V	W	V	W	W	W
Kentucky	24	X^Э	Offered		V		V	W
Louisiana	24^§	X	Given	W	V	W	V	W	V,W
Massachusetts	▼
Michigan	24		Given		V,W		V,W	W
Minnesota	24		Offered			W	V	W	V^†,W
Mississippi	24	X	Offered		V		V	W
Missouri	72	X	Given	W	V	W	V	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			W	V	W	V^†,W	W
Pennsylvania	24		Offered	W	V	W	V	W
South Carolina	24		Offered		V	W	V	W
South Dakota	72^Ω	X	Given	V		W	V	W	W^*	W
Tennessee^Ψ	48	X					V
Texas	24	X^ξ	Offered			W^*	V	W	W^*
Utah	72	X^Э	Given	W	V	W	V	W	V^†,W
Virginia	24	X^ξ	Offered		V	W	V	W
West Virginia	24		Offered	W^*		W	V	W
Wisconsin	24	X	Offered	V,W	V	W	V	W
States with Customary Informed Consent Provisions (6 states)
California					V
Connecticut					V		V
Delaware	▼				V		V
Maine					V		V
Nevada					V		V
Rhode Island					V		V
TOTAL	27	14	28	14	25	23	33	28	12	6
All states waive mandatory waiting period requirements in a medical emergency or when the woman's life or health is threatened. In Utah, the counseling is waived if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or the patient is younger than 15. In Alabama, the counseling requirement is waived in cases of ectopic pregnancy or severe fetal impairment and in Georgia and Rhode Island it is waived in cases of medical emergency. ▼ Enforcement permanently enjoined by court order; policy not in effect. § Enforcement temporarily enjoined by court order; in Louisiana the 72 hour waiting period is temporarily enjoined. V= verbal counseling; W= written materials * Included in written counseling materials although not specifically mandated by state law. † Information given only to women who are at 20 weeks of pregnancy or more; in Missouri the law applies at 22 weeks of pregnancy and in Utah a physician may waive the requirement if the abortion is because of rape, incest, life endangerment, a severe health problem or if the fetus has a lethal condition. ‡ In Indiana, the provision is not enforced against Planned Parenthood of Indiana due to a court case. Ω The law prohibits the inclusion of weekends and annual state holidays as part of the waiting period. Ψ Enforcement of a provision of the Tennessee law requiring that a woman be told that an abortion constitutes major surgery is enjoined. ξ In person counseling is not required for women who live more than 100 miles from an abortion provider. Э Counseling must be conducted "face-to-face" at "any location in the state."

Abortion Counseling & Waiting Periods
STATE	INACCURATE INFORMATION ON STOPPING 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 (30 states)
Alabama						W^†		W
Alaska		W^†			W^†	W		W
Arizona	▼		W^†			W		V
Arkansas	X	W^†				W		V,W
Florida								V
Georgia		W^†				W		V,W
Idaho		V				W^†		V,W^†
Indiana		V, W		W				V
Kansas			W^†		V,W		W	V,W
Kentucky								V
Louisiana		W^†					W	V,W
Massachusetts
Michigan		W					W	V,W
Minnesota		V,W^†		V,W^†		W		V,W
Mississippi		V,W		V	W^†			V,W
Missouri		V				V,W
Montana
Nebraska		V,W^†					W	V,W
North Carolina							W	V
North Dakota		V						V
Ohio								V
Oklahoma		W^†			W^†	W		V,W
Pennsylvania		W^†				W		V,W
South Carolina		W^†				W		W
South Dakota	X	V	W^†				W^‡	V,W^†
Tennessee								V
Texas		V	W	V	W		W^†	V,W
Utah		W					V,W	V,W
Virginia		W				W		W
West Virginia		V					W	V,W
Wisconsin		V,W				V,W		V,W
States with Customary Informed Consent Provisions (8 states)
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Maine								V
Nevada						Ф
Rhode Island
TOTAL	2	21	4	4	5	13	9	29
V= verbal counseling; W= written materials † Included in written counseling materials although not specified by state law. ‡ Law specifically requires the provider to inform in writing a woman seeking an abortion that depression and suicide ideation are risks of the abortion. Ф Law requires discussion of emotional impact of abortion.