Resource Hub: Opposing Viability Limits in Abortion Policy by Patient Forward

Society of Family Planning (SFP) Position Statement

patientforward — 2024-06-05 16:28:19 UTC

"The Society opposes the inclusion of gestational duration limits, including viability, in legislation, laws, initiatives, or regulations."

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Policy Statement

patientforward — 2024-06-05 16:30:20 UTC

"ACOG strongly opposes any effort that impedes access to abortion care and interferes in the relationship between a person and their healthcare professional."

Facts Are Important: Understanding and Navigating Viability (ACOG)

patientforward — 2024-06-05 16:32:48 UTC

"ACOG strongly opposes policy makers defining viability or using viability as a basis to limit access to evidence-based care."

Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Position Statement: Access to abortion care

patientforward — 2024-06-05 16:39:18 UTC

"The Society opposes legislation and policies that limit access to abortion care or criminalize abortion care and self-managed abortion."

Guttmacher: State Bans on Abortion Throughout Pregnancy

patientforward — 2024-06-05 16:44:14 UTC

SFP Science Says: Pregnancy gestational duration limits and bans on abortion are harmful

patientforward — 2024-06-05 16:52:05 UTC

PerryUndem: Exploring the Impact of a Viability Limit on Support for Ballot Measures

patientforward — 2024-06-05 17:00:16 UTC

"Data suggest that a viability limit may dampen strong support for amendments."

Who Not When: Reporting on Abortion Later in Pregnancy

patientforward — 2024-06-05 17:02:52 UTC

Fact Sheet: Banning Abortion at Potential "Viability" is Not Good Policy

patientforward — 2024-06-05 17:03:57 UTC

Better Responses to Opposition Claims “Up Until Birth for No Reason”

patientforward — 2024-06-05 17:06:48 UTC

Our messages push back and reject abortion bans altogether without relying on false claims.

Discussion Guide: Abortion Later in Pregnancy

patientforward — 2024-06-05 17:08:27 UTC

"It’s not when should the government should ban abortion, but whether the government should ban abortion at all."

Guttmacher: Focusing on Exceptions Misses the True Harm of Abortion Bans

patientforward — 2024-06-05 17:27:41 UTC

Measuring the Chilling Effect

patientforward — 2024-06-05 17:31:05 UTC

"Insofar as late-term abortion restrictions chill doctors’ willingness to perform near-late-term abortions, they limit women’s access to such constitutionally protected near-late-term abortions."

Medical Students for Choice Statement on Restrictive Language in State Abortion Ballot Initiatives

patientforward — 2024-06-05 17:33:39 UTC

"Codifying the most problematic components of Roe is a tactic that completely rejects the reproductive justice framework, placing greater importance on the rights of some while sacrificing abortion access for people most impacted by abortion bans."

A Growing Share Of Americans Think States Shouldn't Be Able To Put Any Limits On Abortion

patientforward — 2024-06-05 17:36:48 UTC

Is ‘viability’ viable? Abortion, conceptual confusion and the law in England and Wales and the United States

patientforward — 2024-06-05 17:50:55 UTC

"I conclude that there is incoherence in the meaning of viability and argue that it is thus a conceptually illegitimate basis on which to ground abortion regulation. This is both because of the fluidity of the concept and because how it has been thus far understood in the law is unsupported by medical realities. Furthermore, it has the effect of heavily diluting pregnant people’s rights with overly moralistic limitations on access to healthcare."

Theorizing Time in Abortion Law and Human Rights

patientforward — 2024-06-07 21:27:26 UTC

PerryUndem Tracking Poll: Understanding Abortion Attitudes in a Post-Dobbs World

patientforward — 2024-06-16 16:36:03 UTC

It’s important we get these questions right. To us, one of the most interesting potential shifts post-Dobbs is not wanting the government to restrict abortion, even later in pregnancy. But it’s harder to understand this shift if we’re not measuring the baseline in a relevant way.

PPFA Impact Research: Key Findings and Guidance for Abortion Policy Messaging

patientforward — 2024-06-16 16:37:36 UTC

When speaking about abortion, instead of talking about when abortion should be legal, it is better to underscore who gets to make decisions on abortion. This is the strongest rebuttal to laws that would restrict abortion access, as well as the best proactive message when advocating for abortion throughout pregnancy.

KFF Health Tracking Poll March 2024: Abortion in the 2024 Election and Beyond

patientforward — 2024-06-16 16:39:33 UTC

prior to the 2022 Dobbs decision, a larger share of pro-life voters than pro-choice voters said abortion was important to their vote.

Yet, post Dobbs, there seems to be a new generation of abortion voters. These voters are largely made up of those who want abortion to be “legal in all cases.” They also are disproportionately made up of Black voters, Democratic voters, women voters, and the youngest voting bloc – voters ages 18 to 29.

538: Dobbs Turned Abortion Into A Huge Liability For Republicans, Support for abortion rights is higher than it's been in decades.

patientforward — 2024-06-16 16:41:25 UTC

One of the most surprising post-Dobbs trends is the speed with which some Americans have embraced the view that abortion should be legal with no restrictions at all times, including the late second trimester and early third trimester.

Messaging Recommendations—Beyond Abortion: How Abortion Bans Criminalize Pregnancy

patientforward — 2024-06-20 17:23:38 UTC

Abortion Justice Now

patientforward — 2024-08-15 06:59:09 UTC

This memo outlines a broad critique of gestational or viability limits in proactive federal abortion legislation.

PerryUndem: Abortion Attitudes on The role of government in a post-Dobbs world.

patientforward — 2025-02-06 16:00:48 UTC

Changes in Availability of Later Abortion Care Before and After Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization

patientforward — 2025-03-26 21:25:06 UTC

There have been substantial reductions in the number and distribution of facilities offering procedural abortion since the Dobbs decision, with critical decreases in the availability of later abortion services.

Blurred Lines: Disentangling the Concept of Fetal Viability from Abortion Law

patientforward — 2025-04-06 20:33:36 UTC

"Abortion is an individual and complex decision that women make for a range of reasons. For women making the choice to terminate for an anomaly or a pregnancy complication, they seek abortion services out of concern for their health or for a pregnancy that may never meet a binary definition of viability, regardless of gestational age achieved."

Weitz: Later Abortion Care Availability, Quoted Self-Pay Prices, and State Medicaid Acceptance

patientforward — 2026-07-10 06:51:47 UTC

"In this cross-sectional mystery call study of 130 facilities advertising later abortion care in August 2024, self-pay prices increased with pregnancy duration, while service availability and Medicaid acceptance declined. Improving self-pay price transparency and expanding the availability of later abortion care, especially in states with Medicaid coverage, may facilitate more timely access to care."

National Abortion Federation Policy Position on Abortion Access Throughout Pregnancy

patientforward — 2026-07-10 06:54:24 UTC

As the leading professional membership body for abortion providers nationwide, NAF supports abortion care and access throughout pregnancy and opposes legislation and policies that interfere with that care, including viability limits and gestation-based bans.

Abortion Providers Call for Change on Anniversary of Dobbs

patientforward — 2026-07-10 06:57:22 UTC

"This moment demands a new era of abortion advocacy, one that understands viability and gestational limits are common and equally harmful forms of abortion bans."

The Role of the Viability Line in Pregnancy Criminalization

patientforward — 2026-07-10 06:59:27 UTC

This report unpacks the many ways "viability" enables the criminalization of pregnant people.

Ms. Magazine: What to Know About Later Abortions: Myths, Barriers and Patient Stories

patientforward — 2026-07-10 07:01:12 UTC

As abortion bans spread and delays mount, women seeking care later in pregnancy face growing barriers and persistent misconceptions about why they need it.