ABA Family Legal Guide

Family Law

Children

Abortion

What is the current status of abortion law?

As of the beginning of 2004, women still have a constitutional right to an abortion. In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey reaffirmed its decision in Roe v. Wade that women have a right to seek an abortion during the early stages of pregnancy. The Supreme Court also decided, however, that states have a right to regulate how abortions are performed and that states may ban abortions after the fetus is viable (able to live outside the womb) unless the mother's life or health is endangered. The scope of regulation and funding of abortions by the government varies from state to state and is often tested. States may impose a twenty-four-hour waiting period before an abortion is performed.