The United States has some of the most permissive abortion laws in the world, though many feminist groups claim the contrary.

At the Supreme Court level, abortion was made legal in 1973 with Roe v. Wade, then reaffirmed in 1992 with Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The restrictions that do make it onto the books at the state level are generally limited to parental/informed consent. Usually, constraints on early termination are quickly countered with legal action and ruled unconstitutional. We saw legislation for 15-week and six-week bans struck down this year in Mississippi and Iowa, respectively. Currently, only 17 states ban abortion after 20 weeks’ gestation.