Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, medical providers in states where abortion is banned or severely restricted have struggled to understand how state laws apply to them and the people they serve. The fear and confusion wrought by abortion bans have led some hospitals and other medical facilities in these states to adopt policies that are overly strict or burdensome, causing patients to be denied essential care unnecessarily and often resulting in serious harm.

“Know Your State’s Abortion Laws,” a collection of state-specific guides developed by the Abortion Defense Network, aims to mitigate these harms by arming medical providers with the tools they need to provide care in a post-Roe world. 

The guides clarify a variety of topics including the legality of providing: 

• Abortion care under a state abortion ban’s exceptions or federal law, such as in emergency situations, and the applicable reporting and documentation requirements;
• Counseling and referral information about abortion;
• Birth control, including emergency contraception; and  
• Miscarriage management.

> > Access each of the state guides here.

Read more.

Medical providers who have additional questions about the current state of the law, want individualized legal advice, or need civil or criminal representation, should contact the Abortion Defense Network, an initiative that connects abortion providers and supporters to values-aligned attorneys and legal defense funds. 

The Abortion Defense Network is managed by the Lawyering Project and run in partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice,  National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), and Resources for Abortion Delivery (RAD).