Abortion in New York

Abortion in New York is legal via state statute and Article I, Section 11 of the state constitution. Abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy require the approval of a licensed physician. The Reproductive Health Act, passed in 2019 in New York, further allows abortions past the 24th week of pregnancy if a pregnant woman's life or physical or mental health is at risk, or if the fetus is not viable. However, since these exceptions are not defined by the law, and the law carries no criminal penalties for the pregnant individual, abortion is effectively legal throughout pregnancy.

The number of abortion clinics in New York (for which more than half of all patient visits are for abortion) declined from 302 in 1982 to 95 in 2014, but increased to 113 in 2017, according to Guttmacher Institute.^[1] The abortion rate decreased from an estimated 39 abortions per 1000 women aged 15–44 in 1992 to 22 per 1000 in 2016, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).