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.

About the 2026 KFF Women’s Health Survey:

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.