In 1992, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey that states could regulate abortion so long as it did not place an "undue burden" on the woman; the Court defined an undue burden as one that placed "significant obstacles in the path of a woman seeking an abortion." With that opening, states throughout the country over the past 13 years have passed over 200 regulations that limit in various ways access to abortion.

The map below offers the most recent information (as of June 6, 2006) on these regulations, drawn from national pro-life, pro-choice and non-partisan sources. Click on the map for a particular state's laws concerning mandatory waiting periods, counseling, parental consent for minors, taxpayer funding for abortion, rights of conscience protection for healthcare workers, state regulation of abortion facilities, and more.

A Note on Sources: This map was created from the most recent state information available from The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a non-partisan clearing house for statistical information about family planning; Americans United for Life (AUL), a non-profit law firm specializing in passing pro-life state legislation; and NARAL Pro-Choice America, a national organization which seeks to protect abortion rights. Each of these organizations' sites offer detailed information about these laws and updates on pending legislation.