With abortion laws around the country changing so often, understanding your legal rights and possible risk can be confusing. We’re here to help.
We hope the information on this page will help you better understand what is happening in your state and throughout the country, but this is not legal advice. To talk to a lawyer for a free legal assessment specific to you, call 844-868-2812 or contact us through our secure online form.
Looking for information about your state? Find out about the laws in your state and nearby states so you can get the care you need.
On this page, we provide links to other organizations that are not a part of If/When/How or the Repro Legal Helpline. We are not responsible for any information they offer and/or services they provide. We are also not responsible for any actions you take based on the information and/or services they provide.
Yes! You have the constitutional right to travel. When you have an abortion in a state where abortions are being legally provided, you are not committing a crime in that state or in the state where you live. To find an abortion provider, you can go to abortionfinder.org or ineedana.com.
If you are undocumented and travel out of state, there could be immigration consequences. For example, depending on where you live, there may be Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) checkpoints as you cross state lines. If you are stopped by CBP at a checkpoint, they can question you about your immigration status and detain you if they choose to. To learn more about traveling within the U.S. as someone who is undocumented, you can read this guide.
If you are under 18 and pregnant, there may be other laws that affect you, like parental consent or notification. You can learn more about on our Young People & Abortion page, or call 844-868-2812 or contact us through our secure online form.
If you have an abortion in a state where abortions are being legally provided, you are not committing a crime in that state or in the state where you live. You do not have to tell any health care provider about your decision to get an abortion.
But we understand you may still be worried about how to talk to your health care provider. Learn more about talking to health care providers here. If you have specific questions about your situation, call 844-868-2812 or contact us through our secure online form.
Abortion bans in every state are different, but every ban has an exception to save the life of the pregnant person. But whether someone qualifies for this exception is up to individual medical providers. This means that people have been, and may continue to be denied an emergency abortion in states with abortion bans.
If you are being denied life saving care, call 844-868-2812 or contact us through our secure online form.
Self-managed abortion means ending your own pregnancy outside the formal medical system. A lot of people say “at home abortion,” but that is not exactly right because even when you get abortion pills from a health care provider, you’re still having the abortion at home.
What makes an abortion “self-managed” is that you do not get the pills sent to you from a doctor or other health care provider licensed in the U.S.
A majority of people go to clinics to get abortion care, including for abortion pills. But not everyone can or wants to go to a clinic for many different reasons. So, some people choose to manage their own abortion because that is the best choice for them.
Abortion on Our Own Terms is a website dedicated to providing accurate information about self-managed abortion, including barriers to abortion care, resources, and how to take action. Find out more on their website.
No. Self-managed abortion is ending your own pregnancy without the help of a doctor or health care provider licensed in the United States. Telemedicine, or telehealth, involves meeting with a licensed health care provider virtually or over the phone (instead of in person). The provider then mails the abortion pills to the patient. Find out if your state allows for telemedicine here.
Self-managed abortion is only a crime in Nevada, and after 24 weeks of pregnancy. But there can still be legal risk to self-managing in other states.
Legal risk is specific to an individual and depends on many different things. If you have questions about self-managed abortion and want to understand your legal risk, or if you are being investigated or arrested for self-managing, call 844-868-2812 or contact us through our secure online form.
It depends. Abortion pills are a prescription medication in every state. This means that you have to have the approval of a doctor or health care provider licensed in the U.S. If you get abortion pills in any way without this approval, there is legal risk. We do not know of anyone who has been criminally charged only for ordering abortion pills. But we do know that in several cases where people were charged with crimes for ending their own pregnancies, ordering abortion pills online was used against them.
If you are in a state where health care providers are allowed to use telehealth to prescribe and mail abortion pills, there is no legal risk to using prescribed abortion pills that are sent in the mail in that state.
If you traveled to another state to get abortion pills from a licensed abortion provider in that state, either in-person or by mail, you can travel with the prescription. You are not breaking any law. But what the law says and what happens can be very different. It is impossible to know for sure whether a prosecutor will try to charge someone with a crime.
If you are worried about your legal risk, questioned by the police, or arrested for using abortion pills to end your pregnancy, call 844-868-2812 or contact us through our secure online form.
This depends on many factors, such as where you are and what you do to help your loved one. If you help an adult get abortion pills from a licensed health care provider in a state where abortions are being legally provided, there is no legal risk. If you are helping someone under age 18, and you are not their legal guardian, the legal risk could be high, so please contact us.
Also, some states have civil laws that let anyone sue someone who helps a person have an abortion. And other states make it a crime for anyone to give a pregnant person abortion pills to end a pregnancy, or to send abortion pills through the mail. If you have questions about your specific circumstances and legal risk when helping a loved one, call 844-868-2812 or contact us through our secure online form.
Research shows that having an abortion with abortion pills is the same as having a miscarriage, and they have about the same rates of complications. Abortion pills are medically safe and effective.
The websites below have more information about abortion pills:
No. We do not sell abortion pills and cannot tell you where to buy abortion pills or how to take them.
We are not part of Plan C. Plan C has a website that lists information about different online sources of abortion pills for both self-managed abortion and clinical abortion. The website does not provide legal information or advice.
We are not part of Aid Access. Aid Access is an online provider of abortion pills with licensed health care providers in some U.S. states.
If you have an abortion in a state where they are being legally provided, you are not committing a crime in that state or in the state where you live. You do not have to tell any health care provider about your decision to get an abortion.
But we understand you may still be worried about how to talk to your doctor. Learn more about talking to health care providers here. If you have specific questions about your situation, call 844-868-2812 or contact us through our secure online form.
You have the right to have an abortion, no matter your immigration status. In states where abortion is still being legally provided, health care providers cannot deny you care based on your immigration status, and you do not have to share your status to get an abortion.
But if you live in a state where abortion is banned, you might need to travel to access abortion care. If your immigration status makes travel unsafe, call 844-868-2812 or contact us through our secure online form below.
You can also learn more from the National Immigration Law Center.
Every abortion ban has an exception to save the life of the pregnant person. You also have the legal right to receive emergency medical care in an emergency room in every state, including states with abortion bans. Emergency medical care includes treatment for a pregnant person in labor or experiencing a miscarriage.
There is a federal law, called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, (EMTALA), that says every person who has a medical emergency and goes to an emergency room has the right to get the care they need. This is true no matter your age, immigration status, or whether you have insurance.
But in some states with abortion bans, hospitals have been confused about what medical care they can or cannot give to pregnant people. And unfortunately, some pregnant people have not been given the care they needed in a pregnancy emergency.
If you are being or have been denied an emergency abortion, call 844-868-2812 or contact us through our secure online form.
It is possible that you have a claim for money (“damages”) against a hospital for denying you the care you needed, especially if you were seriously hurt because of it.
You can also file an Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) complaint against a hospital that refused to give you the care you need in a pregnancy emergency. It is not the same as a lawsuit, and you do not need a lawyer to do it. The federal or state government investigates the complaint.
Because it is not the same as a lawsuit, you do not get money from the hospital if the federal government finds that the hospital violated your rights. Instead, the hospital may have to pay a fine or other penalty. And hopefully, that hospital will no longer deny anyone the care they need in a pregnancy emergency.
For information about whether and how to file an EMTALA complaint, other possible complaints you can file, or suing the hospital that denied you care, please call 844-868-2812 or contact us through our secure online form.
If this is a medical emergency, please call 9-1-1 for help.
Our helpline cannot provide medical advice or information, but you can contact the Miscarriage + Abortion Hotline (M+A Hotline), which is operated by medical professionals that can give you expert medical advice. You can contact the M+A Hotline at 1-833-246-2632 or visit their website for more information.
That is not true. You probably went to a crisis pregnancy center (CPC), which is not a real reproductive health clinic. CPCs sometimes present themselves as real clinics but are actually set up to scare or misinform people so they do not get the abortion they want.
Abortion is a very safe and common medical procedure in the United States. Find a real abortion provider at abortionfinder.org or ineedana.com.
Some people who can get pregnant are not women, including non-binary people, transgender men, and other people who might identify in a totally different way. Read more about these terms here.
Unfortunately, we know that trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people face intense discrimination and risk of state violence simply for being themselves. To learn more, you can visit:
To talk to someone who can support you no matter what decision you make about a pregnancy, you can call All Options at 1-888-493-0092.
All Options is a non-profit organization that provides judgment-free support for all people in all their decisions and experiences with pregnancy, parenting, abortion, and adoption. Find out more on their website.
In 15 states, the state Medicaid program can or is required to pay for all abortions. In every state, you have the right to have your abortion paid for by Medicaid if you are 1) low income, and 2) you are pregnant as a result of rape, or your life would be in danger if you stayed pregnant. Find out what the law is in your state.
In the states that do not allow Medicaid to pay for all abortions, an abortion fund or practical support organization can help you get to your abortion appointment and/or help pay for the costs of getting an abortion. Some funds only pay for the procedure. Others only pay for costs like travel, hotel, or childcare. For most, you must have an appointment at a clinic first. To find funding or practical support, go to:
For accurate information about a range of sexual and reproductive health issues—from consent to birth control to miscarriage—you can download the Euki app on an iPhone or Android phone.
Euki is a secure and private period tracker and sexual health app that will never collect personal data or information about you. Find out more on their website.
If someone is harming or threatening you, including trying to prevent you from having an abortion or forcing you into having an abortion, please contact us.
If someone is hurting or threatening you and it is not related to abortion care, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or toll-free 1-800-787-3224. They also have a 24/7 online chat option available on their website.
If you are worried about your privacy, you can learn more about how to protect your personal information here or:
- The Digital Defense Fund has a Guide to Abortion Privacy, including information about period tracking apps.
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation has information about how to more securely browse the internet.
Having an abortion should not negatively impact your ability to keep your job or get an education. But sometimes employers and schools make it difficult for employees to get an abortion or there can be negative consequences for employees and students who have an abortion. To learn more about your legal rights at work and school, check out the Center for WorkLife Law’s factsheets for for workers in English, for workers in Spanish, and for students.
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