The United States is now a nation of starkly contrasting abortion laws, creating a deeply uneven patchwork of access for millions. This new reality was triggered by the US Supreme Court's landmark decision to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022, which abolished the long-standing national right to abortion and returned the power to legislate on the issue to individual states.
A Nation Divided: The Post-Roe Landscape
In the years following the fall of Roe, the battle for reproductive rights has intensified at the state level. The legal situation is highly dynamic, with near-constant legislative activity and legal challenges shaping access across the country. As of 24 November 2025, the map of abortion access is fragmented, with services largely unavailable across the south and midwest, while remaining protected and accessible on both coasts.
Thirteen states have enacted near-total abortion bans, effectively prohibiting the procedure in almost all circumstances. Furthermore, four states – Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Iowa – have implemented bans that restrict abortion past roughly six weeks of pregnancy, a point at which many individuals are unaware they are pregnant.
Legal Battles and Ballot Measures
The future of abortion remains in flux in a handful of states due to ongoing legal disputes. A significant example occurred in May 2025, when the Missouri state supreme court effectively reinstated the state's abortion ban. The court did this by vacating lower-court orders that had previously allowed abortion providers to continue offering the procedure.
This legal turmoil has been met with significant public action. During the November 2024 elections, ten states held votes on abortion-related ballot measures. In a clear signal of public sentiment, seven of these states approved amendments designed to either overturn existing bans or formally enshrine abortion rights into their state laws.
The Ongoing Struggle for Access
This tumultuous period has resulted in a profound shift, not just in law, but in the lived reality of healthcare access. The data on women of reproductive age, approximating those affected by these laws, highlights the scale of the impact. The situation continues to evolve, with this tracker, first created by Jessica Glenza and regularly updated by reporters like Poppy Noor and Ava Sasani, reflecting the most current information available.
Sources for this analysis include the Center for Reproductive Rights, AbortionFinder, and state statutes, ensuring the information is fact-checked and reliable. The landscape of reproductive rights in America has been fundamentally reshaped, and the state-by-state battle is far from over.
