Which states criminalize the woman that has an abortion?

[NewJeffCT]

It looks like most of the penalties are for doctors & other medical professionals that perform safe abortions.

Which states criminalize the woman having the abortion?

I found South Carolina in South Carolina, a person who ends their pregnancy either with a pill or by other means faces up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000 under state law.

Is there a list of states & their criminal penalties?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. None criminalize the person getting an abortion. More than half have laws that could be used to

criminalize a person self-managing their abortion -- that is, causing an abortion without medical/clinical guidance/supervision.

[NewJeffCT]

2. the statute in South Carolina I quoted

seems to indicate that a woman that has an abortion via a pill, or other means, can be prosecuted.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. From what I have heard, the SC law is written in such a way that the implication of criminalization

in the medication abortion context was meant for only SMA, but it is vague enough that it is unclear whether it criminalizes the person getting a medication abortion under supervision as well. These crappy laws are written so poorly (by design) that there's a lot of uncertainty.

ETA for clarification:

A person goes to a clinic and gets mif/miso and instructions on how to take them, or has a video consultation and then the pills are mailed to them = medication abortion.

A person orders pills online, or uses other methods to attempt to end a pregnancy = self-managed abortion.

[FBaggins]

5. That appears to be correct

The section referred to above is only effective after the primary section (44-41-20) that defines when abortions are legal in the state.

It thus wouldn't be a crime (for the patient or the doctor) if the woman's doctor prescribed medication during the first trimester (when the overwhelming majority of medication abortions occur).

It does appear (at least to my reading) that an SMA could indeed be defined as a criminal act under this law.

[Effete Snob]

4. That doesn't rule out accomplice liability

Some states also include persons who assist, counsel, etc.. But, every criminal code has various forms of accomplice liability for persons who assist in the primary criminal activity.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. Right, I was talking only about the person getting the abortion.

[Effete Snob]

7. Yeah, pretty sure that is not correct

What you are not taking into account are provisions, present in every criminal code, like this one in South Carolina:

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t16c001.php

SECTION 16-1-40. Accessory.

A person who aids in the commission of a felony or is an accessory before the fact in the commission of a felony by counseling, hiring, or otherwise procuring the felony to be committed is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be punished in the manner prescribed for the punishment of the principal felon.


That absolutely criminalizes the person getting the abortion in any state where it is a crime.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

8. Illegal abortions aren't always classified as felonies. But yes, it could happen. There are no laws

that specifically criminalize a pregnant person for getting an abortion, but there are laws that explicitly criminalize SMA or could be used to charge someone who self-manages.

[NewJeffCT]

9. thanks

So, unless they specifically exempt women elsewhere, it would be a felony for a woman to have an abortion.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. It would depend on if illegal abortion were a felony in the state.

And then it would depend on whether the prosecutor wanted to bring an accomplice charge against the person getting the abortion. Some would, some wouldn't.