Refusal Laws for Abortion Tie Patients' Hands

In 35 states, patients harmed by a hospital’s refusal to perform abortions can’t sue them due to liability shields under state law. Abortion remains broadly legal in 25 of those states.

U.S. state map showing which states have liability shield laws, abortion bans, both, or neither. 10 states have both shield laws and abortion bans: Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and South Dakota.

(Please use a modern browser to see the interactive version of this visualization)

Note: Conscience-based liability shields are in effect for at least a subset of hospitals; in some states, they do not apply to public hospitals, or they apply only to religious hospitals. Additional states are debating legislation that would ban nearly all abortions.

Source: KFF Health News reporting as of Dec. 12, 2023.

Credit: Rachana Pradhan and Hannah Recht/KFF Health NewsEmbedDownload image