The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
NEWS ALERT
Survey: More Than Half of Women in States with Abortion Bans Wouldn’t Know Where to Get an Abortion if They Needed One, Up Since 2024
More than half (53%) of reproductive-age women living in states with abortion-provision bans say they would not know where to go or where to find information if they needed an abortion, up from 43% in 2024, according to a new KFF survey. Four in 10 (40%) women living in states with gestational limits between 6 and 12 weeks say the same, as do 1 in 3 (32%) reproductive-age women nationally, up from 1 in 4 (26%) in 2024.
The findings come as the greater availability of medication abortion via telehealth has transformed how many women get abortions, including women living in states with bans. While two-thirds (68%) of reproductive-age women have heard of medication abortion pills, just 18% know that people in their state can get them online, including only 8% of women in states with abortion-provision bans. Most women (71%) are unsure how they would get them or have never heard of medication abortion, and 1 in 10 (11%) say people in their state cannot get the pills online.
Four years after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, 1 in 8 (12%) reproductive-age women say they personally know someone, including themselves, who has had difficulty getting an abortion due to restrictions in their state, up from 8% in 2024. Traveling out of state, not knowing where to go, and not having enough money to cover the cost are the most common difficulties. A majority (59%) say they are concerned that abortion-provision bans may affect the safety of a future pregnancy for them or someone close to them, including majorities across most groups except Republican and rural women.
The 2026 KFF Women’s Health Survey was fielded March 11 to April 14, 2026, among a nationally representative sample of 3,538 women ages 18 to 49.
Media Contact: Mikhaila Richards | (202) 654-1328 | MRichards@kff.org
When citing our work, please note our legal name is KFF. We should be cited as KFF, a nonprofit health policy research, polling, and news organization. Our name is no longer the Kaiser Family Foundation.
