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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on January 22, 2024 in a speech: “Today in America, 1 in 3 women of reproductive age live in a state with an abortion ban.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" true/3d4df195c595a07e3fd69b5e4aab3e3c.jpg.\\") ![\\"true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * Abortion * National * Kamala Harris ![\\"Vice](\\" Vice President Kamala Harris discusses abortion rights Jan. 23, 2024, on the George Mason University campus in Manassas, Va. (AP) ![\\"Samantha](\\" By Samantha Putterman January 30, 2024 # How many women live in states with abortion bans? Fact-checking Vice President Kamala Harris #### If Your Time is short * About 21.5 million women and girls of reproductive age live in states that ban abortions completely, or after six weeks of pregnancy, Census data shows. * That’s about 29% of women ages 15 to 49. * When adding in states that ban abortion after 12 or 15 weeks of pregnancy, the number of affected women grows to about 25 million, or about 40%. * Learn more about PolitiFact’s fact-checking process and rating system. See the sources for this fact-check Vice President Kamala Harris launched a national tour to promote the Biden administration’s commitment to abortion rights in Wisconsin, where abortion was effectively banned for 15 months under a 19th century law before a judge restored laws that allow abortions up to 20 weeks. In her speech in Big Bend, Harris attacked former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, for bragging about appointing three of the justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court precedent that enshrined abortion access nationally until the court overturned it in June 2022. \"This is, in fact, a health care crisis and there is nothing about this that is hypothetical,\" Harris told the crowd. \"Today in America, 1 in 3 women of reproductive age live in a state with an abortion ban.\" With abortion as a top election issue, we wanted to check out the statistic. Harris’ claim was similar to a White House fact sheet that said \"more than 23 million women of reproductive age — one in three — live in one of the 18 states with an abortion ban currently in effect.\" This includes 14 states where women cannot get abortions at any point in pregnancy, with limited exceptions. Two other states — Georgia and South Carolina — ban abortions past six weeks, when most women don’t yet know they are pregnant and haven’t had a chance to see a doctor. Two additional states, Nebraska and North Carolina, outlaw abortion after 12 weeks, around the earliest point in pregnancy when women can find out the fetus’ sex and if it carries certain chromosomal abnormalities, including Down syndrome, Trisomy 13 and Edwards syndrome. States that ban abortion at six weeks or less can be reasonably considered to have \"bans\" on the books, experts told PolitiFact, as they leave residents with minimal access to an abortion. Others said laws could be categorized as a ban if they apply at conception or at any other point in pregnancy. Harris’ statistic is close even when counting just the populations of states with abortion bans at six weeks or less. How many U.S. women of reproductive age live in states with abortion bans Women who are considered to be of \"reproductive age\" in the United States are typically 15 to 44 years old. Some researchers and government organizations use a range of 15 to 49 years old to better reflect the increasing number of women having children later in life. There are about 65 million women in the U.S. ages 15 to 44, and about 75 million 15 to 49, 2022 Census data shows. Harris’ office pointed PolitiFact to news reports that found about 21 million to 25 million women of childbearing age lived in states that banned abortion or posed more restrictions on it than before Roe v. Wade was overturned. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 The Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights, found in October 2022 that almost 22 million women ages 15 to 49 lived in states where abortion was \"unavailable or severely restricted,\" amounting to about 29% of the total U.S. population of women in that age range. Guttmacher’s media office told PolitiFact that the number is likely higher today, given the passage of more restrictions. The Associated Press found in June 2023 that more than 25 million women ages 15 to 44 live in states where the law makes abortions harder to get than they were before Roe was overturned. About 5.5 million more women, the report said, live in states where restrictions have been adopted but are on hold pending court challenges. \"Given the shifting landscape of abortion laws, many organizations have different definitions and categories for states’ abortion laws,\" said Laurie Sobel, women\'s health policy director at KFF. Today, approximately 21.5 million women ages 15 to 49 live in the 14 states that totally ban abortion, and in the two states with six-week bans in effect, she said. That comes out to about 29% of women of childbearing age, or about 1 in 3.4. Exceptions to these abortion laws generally fall into four categories: to prevent the mother’s death, when there is a risk to the pregnant woman’s health, when the pregnancy results from rape or incest, and when there is a lethal fetal anomaly. Although most state abortion bans and restrictions have some exceptions, PolitiFact and others have found that, in practice, few are granted. Tallying how many states have abortion bans is complex, but Harris’ number sounded right and could be considered an undercount, said Mary Ziegler, an abortion historian and law professor at the University of California, Davis. Some strict statewide abortion bans are tied up in litigation. A ban held up in court isn’t in effect, but it can still affect women by making physicians more hesitant to provide abortions, Ziegler said. In Florida, for example, a six-week abortion ban that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law is on hold while the state’s Supreme Court weighs whether Florida’s current 15-week ban is constitutional, causing uncertainty for both patients and doctors. Our ruling Harris said 1 in 3 women of reproductive age live in a state with an abortion ban. About 21.5 million women of reproductive age — 15 to 49 — live in states that ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. That’s about 29% of U.S. women in this age group. But even more women live in states where abortion is banned later in pregnancy. When adding in states that ban abortion after 12 or 15 weeks of pregnancy, the number of affected women grows to about 25 million, or about 40%. We rate Harris’ claim True. PolitiFact Senior Correspondent Louis Jacobson contributed to this report. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Whitehouse.gov, Remarks by Vice President Harris to Kick Off Nationwide \"Fight for Reproductive Freedoms\" Tour | Big Bend, WI, Jan. 22, 2023 Whitehouse.gov, FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Highlights Commitment to Defending Reproductive Rights and Actions to Protect Access to Reproductive Health Care One Year After Overturning of Roe v. Wade, June 23, 2023 Associated Press, Democrats believe abortion will motivate voters in 2024. Will it be enough?, Jan. 21, 2024 KFF.org, Abortion in the United States Dashboard, Accessed Jan. 25, 2024 KFF.org, A Review of Exceptions in State Abortion Bans: Implications for the Provision of Abortion Services, May 18, 2023 Americanprogress.org, A Year After the Supreme Court Overturned Roe v. Wade, Trends in State Abortion Laws Have Emerged, June 15, 2023 Merriam-Webster, Ban definition and meaning PolitiFact, All abortion bans include exceptions for a mother’s life. But are they working?, June 23, 2023 Associated Press, A year after fall of Roe v. Wade, 25 million women live in states with abortion bans or restrictions, June 22, 2023 The Washington Post, 1 in 3 American women have already lost abortion access. More restrictive laws are coming., Aug. 22, 2022 Guttmacher Institute, 100 Days Post-Roe: At Least 66 Clinics Across 15 US States Have Stopped Offering Abortion Care, Oct. 6, 2022 March of Dimes, Population of women 15-44 years by age: United States, 2021 Phone interview, Mary Ziegler abortion historian and law professor at the University of California, Davis, Jan. 23, 2024 Email interview Guttmacher Institute media office, Jan. 23, 2024 Email interview Ernesto Apreza, spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, Jan. 23-26, 2024 Email interview, Laurie Sobel associate director of women’s health policy at KFF, Jan. 26, 2024 Email interview, Barrett White press secretary at the Center for Reproductive Rights, Jan. 26, 2024 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Samantha Putterman ![](\\" ![](\\" Vote No on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: “Unlike other amendments, Amendment 4 has no definitions. … Without definitions these words can mean almost anything.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 23, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 21, 2024 in a video: Sen. JD Vance admitted he has a ‘rent-a-dog’ from the Trump campaign to make him “seem like a dog person.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 22, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on September 20, 2024 in an X post: First lady Jill Biden led a Cabinet meeting for President Joe Biden and her signature appears on presidential stationery. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 21, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on September 14, 2024 in a speech: “In Project 2025, you’re going to have to register with a new federal agency when you get pregnant.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 17, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. Not for her health. Not even for rape.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 13, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 28, 2024 in an ad: Project 2025 would defund K-12 schools. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 6, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Elizabeth Warren stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview: “JD Vance actually sent a letter last year to the Department of Justice saying, ‘enforce the Comstock Act.’” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • August 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ron DeSantis stated on August 28, 2024 in a press conference: The proposal to put golf courses, hotels in Florida state parks “was something that was leaked. … a lot of that stuff was half-baked and was not ready for prime time.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rick Scott stated on August 28, 2024 in a post on X: “This month alone, more than 16,000 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls in 3 states.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Debbie Mucarsel-Powell stated on August 7, 2024 in un anuncio de radio de campaña: El senador Rick Scott no apoya las excepciones al aborto. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • August 16, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Debbie Mucarsel-Powell stated on August 7, 2024 in an ad: Sen. Rick Scott does not support abortion exceptions. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • August 14, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 8, 2024 in a press conference: Says his Jan. 6, 2021, speech on the White House Ellipse drew the “same number of people,” as the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • August 9, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ron DeSantis stated on August 6, 2024 in an X post: “In 2021, Minnesotans were roughly five times more likely to move to Florida than vice versa” because they were “fleeing” the state under Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 8, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 31, 2024 in an NABJ conference appearance: Kamala Harris was “Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went, she became a Black person.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • July 31, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on July 28, 2024 in an interview: Vice President Kamala Harris is “calling for an end to the child tax credit.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • July 30, 2024 ### How many women live in states with abortion bans? Fact-checking Vice President Kamala Harris * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 20, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: Bill Gates dijo que \"estamos tomando cosas que son ya sabes organismos genéticamente modificados y los estamos inyectando en los brazos de niños pequeños\" en el contexto de las vacunas. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • September 26, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 20, 2024 in a Threads post: “Oprah is a sex trafficker. She’s been caught and now has to be escorted around” by U.S. marshals ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 23, 2024 in a Threads post: Says John Fetterman said he’s “voting for Trump.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 22, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Taylor Swift’s concert attendance drops after Harris endorsement: ‘No Fans, just empty seats and echoes.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on September 10, 2024 in an op-ed: Jon Tester “supported slashing Social Security benefits” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 22, 2024 in a Threads post: Florida \"put Tom Walz instead of Tim Walz\" on its ballots. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on September 21, 2024 in in Bethlehem, Pa.: “Donald Trump added more to the national debt than any other president, ever.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Senate Leadership Fund stated on September 17, 2024 in a TV ad: “Two years ago, Bob Casey promised us his vote will reduce inflation. ... Casey’s vote for reckless spending” made inflation worse. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 25, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 23, 2024 in an Instagram post: Video shows Vice President Kamala Harris “hammered.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 24, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 23, 2024 in a Threads post: Travis Kelce endorsed Kamala Harris. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 24, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. 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Today in America 1 in 3 women of reproductive age live in a state with an abortion ban