--- title: What It Means to Get an Abortion After ‘Fetal Viability’ description: Even in states where abortion is legal, many restrict the procedure after 'fetal viability.' Here's what that means and why some abortions happen later in pregnancy. canonical: https://time.com/7199856/abortion-fetal-viability-pregnancy/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-12-04T20:34:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:48:57.918Z article:section: Health og:title: What It Really Means to Get an Abortion After ‘Fetal Viability’ og:description: Even in states where abortion is legal, many restrict the procedure after 'fetal viability.' Here's what that means and why some abortions happen later in pregnancy. og:url: https://time.com/7199856/abortion-fetal-viability-pregnancy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4508232798406ef0/698b247316d8847a22c46299/abortion-clinic-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: US-NEWS-ILL-ABORTION-TRAINING-TB og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What It Really Means to Get an Abortion After ‘Fetal Viability’ twitter:description: Even in states where abortion is legal, many restrict the procedure after 'fetal viability.' Here's what that means and why some abortions happen later in pregnancy. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4508232798406ef0/698b247316d8847a22c46299/abortion-clinic-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What It Really Means to Get an Abortion After ‘Fetal Viability’ > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=9d288b3b-3f9b-4826-9344-fc87236fed1a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What It Really Means to Get an Abortion After ‘Fetal Viability’ [Watch (HLS stream): What It Really Means to Get an Abortion After ‘Fetal Viability’](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/YU8cm8hm.m3u8) (9:23)  _Published 2024-12-06. Even in states where abortion is legal, many restrict the procedure after 'fetal viability.' Here's what that means and why some abortions happen later in pregnancy._ by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Dec 4, 2024 8:34 PM UTC Even in states where abortion is legal, many restrict the procedure after 'fetal viability.' Here's what that means and why some abortions happen later in pregnancy. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Dec 4, 2024 8:34 PM UTC Kate Dineen was about 33 weeks pregnant with her second child when an ultrasound revealed that her baby had suffered a catastrophic stroke in utero and would likely either die before birth or have a short and painful life. “This was a deeply wanted pregnancy. Everything had been progressing smoothly,” Dineen, now 41, says. “I was just shocked by the diagnosis first, and heartbroken by the diagnosis, and also certain that I wanted to try and obtain a termination so that I could protect my son from pain and suffering. I knew in that moment that I wanted to make the decision.” But Dineen and her husband live in Boston, Massachusetts—a state where abortion is permitted until fetal viability. While Massachusetts allows medical providers to perform abortions after that in [certain situations](https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mass-general-laws-c112-ss-12n)—such as if necessary to preserve the patient’s health or life or if there’s a lethal fetal anomaly or diagnosis—doctors told Dineen in 2021 that her diagnosis didn’t fall under the exceptions under state law at the time. Instead, Dineen and her husband had to travel to Bethesda, Maryland to get an abortion. “I was just floored that I wasn’t able to access healthcare in my home state, which I think is arguably one of the most progressive in the U.S., and also happens to be this bastion of healthcare,” Dineen says. Abortion is legal in 29 states and Washington, D.C. Most of them, like Massachusetts, limit abortion around fetal viability, which refers to the stage at which a fetus might survive outside the uterus. In the landmark _Roe v. Wade_ case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that pregnant people had the constitutional right to abortion, but also allowed states to restrict abortion based on the stage of pregnancy. When _Roe_ was in place, states could prohibit abortion after fetal viability if the law carried some exceptions. Reproductive-rights organizations have [said](https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-south-east-north-florida/blog/51st-anniversary-of-roe-v-wade) that _Roe_ was “the floor, not the ceiling,” pushing for increased access to abortion care, and many [medical organizations](https://msfc.org/statement-on-restrictive-language-ballot-initiatives/), such as the [American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists](https://www.acog.org/advocacy/facts-are-important/understanding-and-navigating-viability) (ACOG), oppose using the term “fetal viability” in legislation or regulation. Still, only [nine states and D.C.](https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/abortions-later-in-pregnancy-in-a-post-dobbs-era/#:~:text=Have%20states%20taken%20action%20to,earlier%20version%20of%20this%20brief.) do not currently have laws that restrict abortion after fetal viability: Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont. Since the Supreme Court [overturned](https://time.com/6189476/abortion-supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade/) _Roe_ in 2022 with the _Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization_ decision, 20 states have now either restricted abortion to earlier in pregnancy or banned it in nearly all situations, preventing people across the country from accessing care. But Dineen’s experience happened before _Roe_ fell, and shows how, even in states where reproductive rights are protected, patients can still face barriers to accessing abortion services later in pregnancy. “I was lucky that I was able to secure an appointment and receive that compassionate care and to give my son peace and to give my family peace,” Dineen says. “And many other patients are not so lucky, especially now.” ## What is ‘fetal viability’? The term "viability" is often used in two contexts: early in pregnancy, the term typically refers to whether a pregnancy is likely to continue developing normally, whereas later in pregnancy, it refers to whether a fetus could survive outside of the uterus, according to ACOG. While fetal viability is typically [thought](https://time.com/6196775/fetus-prioritized-before-pegnancy-viable/) to be around 23-24 weeks of pregnancy, doctors and medical organizations say that there is no universal point at which viability occurs—it’s an imprecise point that varies from person to person and pregnancy to pregnancy. Some pregnancies, for instance, are never viable because of complications. “The reason that this is a difficult term to base legislation on is because it is individual to each pregnancy, and we don’t actually know if a fetus is viable until it’s viable,” says Dr. Diane Horvath, an ACOG fellow, ob-gyn, complex family planning specialist, and abortion provider in Maryland. “We can make predictions, but we can’t say at any given time that we’re certain that a particular pregnancy is viable.” There is no test that can definitively determine fetal viability; rather, doctors will assess a variety of factors—including gestational age, genetics, and weight, among others—to predict the chances of the fetus surviving outside the womb, according to ACOG. Fetal viability is a “judgement call,” Horvath says. Horvath says that there is no clinical justification for prohibiting abortion after fetal viability, adding that abortion is safe at any stage of pregnancy. Rather, the argument for restricting abortion after fetal viability is based on personal ethical beliefs. “I think what’s happened is people have taken this term that actually is a medical determination and, as we’ve said, unique to each pregnancy, unique to each circumstance, and they’ve made it something, politically, as if it’s a line in the pregnancy where we can always determine that a fetus will live when it’s removed from the pregnant person’s body, and that’s just not true,” Horvath says. “It is impossible to make a law that reflects all of the nuance that goes into discussing fetal viability with a patient.” Kelsey Pritchard, director of state public affairs for the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement that the organization supports laws that prohibit abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy or sooner, but it believes that “a viability law that actually limits abortion around 24 weeks is better than an amendment or law” that has no restrictions on abortion. States that restrict abortion after fetal viability typically offer exceptions after that for situations where the pregnant person’s health or life is at risk, or for fatal or grave fetal diagnoses. But medical providers say that exceptions can create obstacles that make it more difficult for patients to access the care they need or want—like Dineen. “When you look at the data of who is seeking abortion later in pregnancy, the vast majority of these cases are because of those exceptions,” says Dr. Maya Bass, a family physician, abortion provider, and co-chair of the Committee to Protect Health Care’s Reproductive Freedom Taskforce. “But I will say that anytime you have an exception, that’s an extra barrier that a patient has to prove that they are the exception to get the care, which is only further delaying their care. At some level, we need to let the patient-physician relationship remain unaffected by politics.” ## Why do people seek abortions later in pregnancy? Data indicates that most abortions occur in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy. Data from the [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/ss/ss7307a1.htm) shows that abortions performed at or after 21 weeks of pregnancy only accounted for about 1% of abortions in 2022, whereas 92.8% of abortions that year occurred at or before 13 weeks of pregnancy, and 98.9% of abortions that year occurred at or before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Experts say there are several reasons why someone may seek an abortion later in pregnancy: they may receive a new fetal diagnosis, or they may have a health condition that worsens as the pregnancy continues. Some people could discover that they’re pregnant later, causing them to seek care at a later stage. Another reason people may seek abortions later in pregnancy is because they faced barriers to obtaining care earlier. Horvath says that her clinic often sees patients who previously tried to get an abortion, but were unable to. Since the fall of _Roe,_ many pregnant people have been [unable to get abortions in their home state](https://time.com/6208860/ohio-woman-forced-travel-abortion/), leading to delays in accessing care if they need to travel. When Anne Angus went for an anatomy scan when she was 19 weeks pregnant with her first child in September 2022, her medical providers found some problems. But it took a while for her to receive a full diagnosis—she had to travel from her home in Bozeman, Montana to Colorado to get more advanced maternal healthcare. When she was 24 weeks pregnant, doctors told her that her baby had [Eagle-Barrett Syndrome](https://www.childrenscolorado.org/conditions-and-advice/conditions-and-symptoms/conditions/eagle-barrett-syndrome/), which is a rare condition when a baby’s abdominal muscles are weak or absent and affects the development of the urinary system and testes. Angus, now 35, and her husband decided that an abortion would be the most compassionate choice for their family. Because Montana only permits abortion until fetal viability, Angus had to travel back to Colorado to get care. But this was just a few months after the _Dobbs_ decision, so many clinics were overwhelmed with patients who also had to travel because of restrictions in their home states. Angus had to wait an extra two weeks before she could get an abortion. “It was absolute hell,” Angus says. “That time, it is just so surreal because you’re still pregnant—the world still sees you and treats you as pregnant and so you have random people congratulating you, ‘Oh, when are you due?’ But your baby is going to die. And you’ve made that decision, that impossible decision, because it doesn’t feel like a choice when you get a diagnosis like that.” ## Misinformation and election aftermath In November, the country [reelected former President Donald Trump](https://time.com/7096575/donald-trump-abortion-plan-2024/), the man who has claimed credit for his role in the Supreme Court’s _Dobbs_ ruling_._ Trump faced backlash during the campaign for his inflammatory rhetoric and false claims about abortions later in pregnancy, such as [accusing](https://time.com/6993365/biden-trump-abortion-first-presidential-debate-2024/) Democrats of supporting doctors taking “the life of the baby in the ninth month, and even after birth.” Abortions don’t happen “after birth”—that would be infanticide, which is a crime everywhere in the U.S. And abortions later in pregnancy are rare. But medical providers, abortion-rights advocates, and patients worry that the rhetoric spread by the President-elect could perpetuate common misconceptions about abortion later in pregnancy. “The most persistent misconception I hear is that a woman wakes up one day in her second or third trimester and decides she doesn’t want to be pregnant anymore and she flippantly, casually pursues a later abortion—that doesn’t happen,” Dineen says. “People pursue abortions later in pregnancy because they’ve received new information.” At the same time that Trump won the presidential election, the majority of the [abortion-rights measures on state ballots](https://time.com/7173410/abortion-ballot-results-2024-election/) this year passed. Many of those initiatives only enshrined the right to abortion in state constitutions up until fetal viability. Elisabeth Smith, director of state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement the Center believes that everyone should be able to access health care, including abortion, whenever they need it, but that “law reform is incremental,” and that local activists have a strong understanding of what language on a ballot measure would have support in their communities. Advocates behind the ballot measures have [said](https://apnews.com/article/abortion-viability-ballot-initiatives-2024-roe-fcf440373973b01f740912cd3bbd98a4) that, because _Roe_ protected abortion until fetal viability, voters may be more comfortable passing initiatives to restore protections with language that they’re familiar with. After Dineen’s experience getting an abortion, she worked with advocates and lawmakers to expand the exceptions for getting an abortion after fetal viability under Massachusetts law. While she says that was a win—and is encouraged by the ballot measures elsewhere—she worries that it’s still not enough. “Seeing states codify access to abortion is exciting, and we have momentum, and it shows that abortion still wins on the ballot,” Dineen says. “And as a later abortion patient, when I look at the actual language and see the limitations, it is heartbreaking because I know that patients like me are continuing to get left behind.” ## Transcript [00:00] September 2022, I had my anatomy scan, [00:03] and I found out that there were some problems with my baby. [00:08] It took me a couple weeks to figure out the full extent of [00:11] that because I live in a real state like Montana, [00:14] I had to travel out of state to get more advanced maternal care. [00:17] And so that really delayed my diagnostic timeline. [00:21] At 24 weeks, I got the full diagnosis. [00:25] My son had a condition called Eagle Barrett syndrome, [00:28] which affects the development of the renal system, [00:31] the abdominal muscles, potentially the diaphragm. [00:34] And we realized that this was really not a viable pregnancy. [00:38] And so we decided to have an abortion the pregnancy. [00:41] Several years ago, I was pregnant with my son, Teddy. [00:46] It was a planned and deeply wanted pregnancy that was progressing. [00:51] Without issue, and I had a routine ultrasound around 32, 33 weeks. [00:57] And during that ultrasound, [00:59] I learned that he had suffered from a catastrophic stroke in utero, [01:04] and he would either die in utero [01:08] or be consigned to a life however brief of pain and suffering. [01:12] Um, so, at that point in time, [01:14] I was a patient at Mass General Hospital in Boston, [01:18] and I was denied care. [01:20] Because I live in Montana, [01:21] abortion is safe and legal in Montana, [01:24] but because of the Armstrong amendment that we currently have in our Constitution, [01:28] abortion is banned at viability. [01:30] So seeking care in my home state was not an option. [01:34] And this was several months post Dob's decision in 2022. [01:38] And so a lot of the clinics who could give [01:40] third second trimester and third trimester abortion care were overwhelmed with clinics, [01:46] excuse me, with patients from out of state because [01:49] their timelines had been pushed out too due to restrictions in their home state. [01:54] And so I had to wait an extra two weeks to end my pregnancy. [01:58] And so I was 26 weeks by the time that I could say goodbye to my son. [02:03] Was forced to seek care out of state, [02:06] and I was fortunate enough to have the resources to do so. [02:10] I had an 18 month old at the time. [02:12] I have a loving husband who's a wonderful partner, [02:15] and we had the resources to drop everything to drive 500 miles to Bethesda, [02:21] Maryland and seek care at the care clinic there. [02:24] The burden there is large. [02:27] It requires a lot of logistics, [02:29] huge financial investment of traveling and paying out of pocket for care. [02:33] And I was just lord, [02:37] that I wasn't able to access healthcare in my home state, [02:41] which I think is arguably one of the most progressive in the US. [02:45] To be blunt about the experience of seeking my abortion, it was absolute hell. [02:50] The providers wouldn't refer me, [02:53] so I had to arrange my own medical care. [02:55] I had to call the clinic. [02:57] That was the worst phone call of my life. [02:59] They were extremely compassionate, bless them. [03:03] But it was hell. [03:05] And then I had to wait two weeks. [03:06] And that time, it is just so surreal because you're still pregnant. [03:11] The world still sees you and treats you as pregnant. [03:14] And so you have random people, congratulating you. [03:16] Oh, when are you due. But your baby's going to die. [03:20] And, you know, you've made that decision, [03:23] that impossible decision because it [03:26] doesn't feel like a choice when you get a diagnosis like that. [03:29] It's really just determining how and when do I let my baby go? [03:33] Because this isn't salvageable. [03:36] And it's really just hell to keep grappling with that in such a prolonged period of time. [03:41] I felt incredibly naive that I didn't [03:45] understand the nuances of our state law here in Massachusetts. [03:49] So the simple structure is that we have a 24 week ban on the books, [03:56] often referred to as a viability ban or a gestational ban. [03:59] And there are certain narrow exceptions for receiving care after that 24 week limit. [04:06] And so, you know, [04:08] I learned about this very fragile network of last stop clinics. [04:12] Depending upon how far along you are in your pregnancy, [04:15] I was about 33 weeks at the time. [04:16] There are a handful of clinics that will provide later abortion care, [04:21] Colorado, DC, Maryland, or the primary. [04:25] So I was able to I was lucky that I was able to secure [04:29] an appointment and receive [04:31] that compassionate care and to give my son peace and to give my family peace. [04:35] And many other patients are not so lucky. [04:38] I get really angry thinking back on it because it's like all of the medical providers [04:42] that have been so involved in helping me coordinate care for this pregnancy vanished. [04:47] And we're seeing it come out in other states. [04:49] Doctors are terrified to touch pregnant patients with potential complications. [04:54] And so I think I saw the early buddings of that. [04:57] Especially now after the fall of Roe, [05:00] we're seeing patients pushed further and further into pregnancy. [05:03] So this very fragile network of independent last stop clinics with [05:07] courageous later abortion providers are really [05:10] struggling to stay afloat and they are inundated with patients. [05:13] It's incredibly difficult. [05:15] To secure an appointment, [05:17] even if you have the resources to travel. [05:19] So the stakes are so high, [05:21] it's not just an inconvenience of being denied care and having to travel. [05:25] It's the likelihood that you're going to have to forego care, [05:28] and you're going to have to against your will carry [05:32] a pregnancy to term and birth a severely compromised pregnancy in my case, [05:36] and likely watch your child suffer and die. [05:39] And we're seeing that happen across the country. [05:42] Phrase late term abortion and post birth abortion are incredibly misleading and damaging, [05:47] and I would call them outright lies. [05:49] First of all, a late term abortion, that's so subjective. [05:53] What does late mean? In Texas, [05:55] late is anything past six weeks. [05:57] And so I think it's really important when we talk about [06:00] abortion care to use medically accurate language. [06:04] So I talk about my abortion in terms of the gestational age I was at. [06:08] I was at 26 weeks. [06:10] I also talk about, um, [06:13] second trimester and third trimester abortion care, [06:16] which is what people conceptualize as late term abortions. [06:20] But again, late is subjective. [06:22] And so I think we need to be very intentional about the language we choose. [06:27] Similarly, post birth abortion. [06:29] I have a special ire for that language because that language is targeting [06:34] families who gave birth to an infant that will die, that is dying. [06:39] And they are talking about parents who opted for comfort care [06:43] instead of prolonging the inevitable and prolonging that infant's suffering. [06:47] I get very emotional about that because I know that [06:51] would have been my family if I hadn't gotten my abortion. [06:54] There are a lot of myths about later abortion. [06:57] There's the myth of partial birth abortion and after birth. [07:01] Abortion. Right. There's the myth of [07:04] the monster flippantly casually pursuing a third trimester abortion. [07:09] But there is the myth that patients in [07:12] blue states have unfettered access to abortion care throughout pregnancy. [07:17] And then I think there is the most vexing myth of them all, [07:20] is that Roe is enough. [07:21] And that, I think, is the most vexing myth that we're [07:24] grappling with right now within the pro choice movement. [07:27] And, you know, seeing states codify access to abortion is exciting. [07:36] And we have momentum, [07:39] and it shows that abortion still wins on the ballot. [07:43] And as a later abortion patient, [07:46] when I look at the actual language and see the limitations, [07:50] it is heartbreaking because I know that [07:53] patients like me are continuing to get left behind. [07:56] Tilt initiatives that have passed in other states, [07:58] I see them as a really good foundation, [08:01] but the problem is that they have viability language in there. [08:04] And viability language, that's legal ease. [08:07] That's not a medical term because what does viability mean? [08:10] Does it mean an infant's born and survives for an hour, survives for a day, [08:14] survives for a year, survives indefinitely on extreme medical intervention? [08:19] What does it mean to be viable? [08:21] At what point it's just far too complicated and nuance to legislate. [08:26] And the se legislators, [08:29] I envy them a lot because they live in [08:32] this fantasy world where it's very black and white, [08:35] but that's not the clinical reality of pregnancy. [08:38] Pregnancy is complicated, it's nuanced and every pregnancy is different. [08:43] Wish that people understood that third trimester abortion seekers are not monsters. [08:49] Many of us are mothers trying to make the best decision we can for our child, [08:55] for our baby, for our family, [08:57] for our future fertility, [08:59] for our own well being. [09:01] And these circumstances are incredibly complicated, medically complex, [09:08] and the decisions about pursuing [09:11] an abortion later in pregnancy cannot be left up to public opinion, [09:14] and they can't be left up to politicians or the government. 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