One way states regulate abortions is by imposing legal requirements on healthcare facilities where abortions are performed. These legal requirements, known as Targeted Regulation of Abortion Provider (TRAP) laws, apply specifically to abortion providers, and mandate additional requirements not applied to other similarly situated healthcare practices. TRAP laws may address various aspects of facilities’ physical environment and operations (e.g., staffing, required practices, hospital transfer arrangements).
This map shows laws that require facilities where abortions are performed to be regulated under a distinct abortion facility licensing (AFL) provision, and/or meet special requirements regulating abortion providers. This page identifies variation in states that have AFL requirements in effect as of August 31, 2020.
This map is part of a suite of legal maps on TRAP and office-based surgery (OBS) laws created through a partnership with Bonnie Scott Jones, JD, and Sara Daniel, MPH, of Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health Care (ANSIRH), who conceptualized and designed the study. It was updated as part of the Abortion Law Project, a collaboration between the Policy Surveillance Program, Guttmacher Institute, Resources for Abortion Delivery (RAD), American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Reproductive Rights, National Abortion Federation, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.