After Roe Fell: U.S. Abortion Laws by State

Protected

Delaware

Abortion will remain legal in Delaware. State law includes express protections for abortion and, in 2021, Delaware repealed its final pre-Roe ban.

State Legal Details

Bans in Effect

  • Gestational Ban, Viability

Restrictions in Effect

  • Parental Involvement, Parental Notification Requirement
  • TRAP requirements: Providers, Reporting Requirement

State Protections

Delaware law includes express statutory protections for abortion.1 In 2022, Delaware enacted an interstate shield law protecting providers, patients, and people who help others access abortion and other reproductive healthcare from professional licensure consequences, the reach of out-of-state investigations and legal actions, and the disclosure of information.2 The state requires public and private coverage of abortion care.3 Delaware allows physicians, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives, certified nurse practitioners, and advanced practice registered nurses to provide abortion care prior to viability.4

Restrictions

Delaware law generally prohibits abortion after viability.5 Delaware law generally requires that a parent or legal guardian be notified at least 24 hours prior to a minor’s abortion;6 alternatively, a judge can approve a minor’s petition without parental notification.7

Delaware requires abortion providers to submit reports to the state.8 Providers who violate Delaware’s abortion restrictions may face civil and criminal penalties.9

Historical Restrictions

Delaware has repealed or amended its pre-Roe bans.10

Conclusion

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe, abortion will remain legal in Delaware. State law includes express protections for abortion and, in 2021, Delaware repealed its final pre-Roe ban.

  1. Del. Code Ann. tit. 24, § 1790. ↩︎
  2. Del. Code. Ann. tit. 11, § 2506; Del. Code Ann. tit. 24, §§ 1731(b)(26), 1773(c), 1922(d)); Del. Code Ann. tit. 10 § 3928. ↩︎
  3. Del. Code Ann. tit. 18, §§ 102, 3370G, 3571AA; Del. Code Ann. tit. 29, § 5217; Del. Code Ann. tit. 31, §§ 502, 525, 531–33. ↩︎
  4. Del. Code Ann. tit. 24, § 1790(a), (c). ↩︎
  5. Del. Code Ann. tit. 24, § 1790 (b) (making exceptions for when the termination is necessary for the protection of the pregnant person’s life or health or in the event of a fetal anomaly for which there is not a reasonable likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without extraordinary medical measures). ↩︎
  6. Del. Code Ann. tit. 24, § 1783(1). ↩︎
  7. Del. Code Ann. tit. 24, §§ 1783(2), 1784. ↩︎
  8. Del. Code Ann. tit. 16, § 3133. ↩︎
  9. See, e.g., Del. Code Ann. tit. 24, §§ 1789, 1789B. ↩︎
  10. Del. Code Ann. tit. 24 §§ 1793, 1794 repealed by 81 Del. Laws ch. 35, § 3 (2017); Del. Code Ann. tit. 24 § 1790 amended by 81 Del. Laws ch. 35, § 4 (2017); Del. Code Ann. tit. 11, §§ 651–54 repealed by 83 Del. Laws ch. 200, § 1 (2021). ↩︎