U.S. Abortion Laws by State

Hostile

American Samoa

American Samoa is likely to prohibit abortion entirely. Abortion is currently prohibited with limited exceptions in the territory.

State Legal Details

Bans in Effect

  • Criminalization of Self-managed Abortion
  • Gestational Ban, Total Ban

Governance

American Samoa is unique among the five unincorporated territories. It is governed by an executive order, which vests significant authority for administration of American Samoa in the Secretary of the Interior, so long as the Secretary’s actions are “in harmony with applicable law.”1 Unlike the residents of the other four unincorporated territories at issue, American Samoans are not U.S. citizens; rather, they are U.S. nationals.2

Restrictions

American Samoa generally prohibits abortion3 with very limited exceptions4 under its criminal code. In 2014, the local government’s family planning program director stated in a letter to a local newspaper that “termination of pregnancy is illegal in American Samoa,” and stated that neither the sole hospital on the island nor any clinics carried mifepristone.5 American Samoa law restricts the provision of abortion care to physicians;6 however, the island currently has no abortion provider. Individuals who violate American Samoa’s abortion restrictions may face criminal penalties.7

During the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions and quarantine mandates further impeded access to abortion care for individuals in American Samoa who would otherwise travel to seek abortion care elsewhere.8

Protections

American Samoa law does not protect abortion.

Post-Roe Prohibitions

American Samoa does not have a pre-Roe ban.

Conclusion

American Samoa essentially prohibits abortion today.9 Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, it is likely that American Samoa will ban abortion outright, absent intervention from the Secretary of the Interior and/or Congress.

  1. Exec. Order No. 10,264, Transfer of the Administration of American Samoa from the Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of the Interior, 16 Fed. Reg. 6417 (June 29, 1951); reprinted in 48 U.S.C. u00a7 1662. ↩︎
  2. 8 U.S.C u00a7 1408(1); Sean Morrison, Foreign in a Domestic Sense: Americans Samoa and the Last U.S. Nationals, 41 Hastings Const. L.Q. 71, 121-122 (2013); Tuaua v. United States, No. 12-1143-RJL, 2013 WL 3214961, at *6-7 (D.D.C. June 26, 2013). ↩︎
  3. AM. SAMOA CODE ANN. u00a7 46.3901 et seq. ↩︎
  4. Id.u00a7 46.3902. ↩︎
  5. Marilyn Pavitt-Anesi, Letter to the Editor, SAMOA NEWS (June 27, 2014) ↩︎
  6. AM. SAMOA CODE ANN. u00a7 46.3903 ↩︎
  7. See, e.g., id. u00a7u00a7 46.3902 (c), 46.3905, 46.3906. ↩︎
  8. Caleb Jones, Hawaii’s Tourism Industry Struggles as Shutdown Keeps Coronavirus Numbers Among Lowest in USA, In Travel News, USA Today (May 4, 2020, 1:51 PM); Gov. David Ige, Order for Self-Quarantine (March 21, 2020) ↩︎
  9. Id. u00a7 46.3901 et seq. ↩︎