Abortion is now banned in 13 states across the United States, while four states have implemented bans after roughly six weeks of pregnancy, according to a tracker maintained by the Guardian. The tracker, updated as of 12 January 2026, reflects the ongoing state-by-state battle following the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade in 2022.
The four states with six-week bans are Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Iowa. Other states have either enacted laws to protect abortion rights or held ballot referendums to do so. However, in several states, the legal status of abortion remains uncertain due to ongoing court challenges.
In Missouri, voters approved a ballot measure in 2024 to protect abortion rights, but a protracted legal battle has effectively blocked providers from performing the procedure. A new measure proposing to reinstate the state's abortion ban will be put to voters in the 2026 elections. Several other states are also expected to vote on abortion-related ballot measures in upcoming elections.
The current landscape is deeply uneven, with access to abortion clinics largely cut off across much of the South and Midwest, while remaining strong on both coasts. The tracker uses data from the Center for Reproductive Rights, AbortionFinder, and state statutes, and notes that women of reproductive age (15-49) from the 2020 US census are used as an approximation for the number of people affected by these laws.
