A map of the United States with the states colored in a rainbow ombre from warm in the west to cool in the east.

Mission and Purpose

The Abortion Policy API’s mission is to support efforts to improve abortion access.

The U.S. lacks federal protections for abortion access, leaving states to enact a patchwork of abortion laws that vary by state.

We provide up-to-date information on state abortion policies that can be integrated into online abortion resources. The Abortion Policy API (application programming interface) enables users to access up-to-date data on US abortion policy that is specific to each state/territory. The API allows developers of applications, websites, tools, articles, etc to integrate accurate, vetted abortion policy data that stays current.

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FAQs

  • An API (Application Programming Interface) acts as a messenger between two programs. When a website sends a 'request' to the API, the API returns a 'response' with the correct state-specific data.

  • Policy research and analysis for the Abortion Policy API was primarily conducted by Jenn Mahan.

    Additionally, the Abortion Policy API benefits from the collaborative policy analysis of experts from dozens of reproductive rights, health, and justice organizations. Cooperation among this group of experts helps ensure that the API reflects a consensus about these developments, when they go into effect, how they should be interpreted. Contributing members include staff from Guttmacher, Planned Parenthood, Power to Decide, Abortion Finder, Ineedana.com, Lawyers for Good Government, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), RHITES, Online Abortion Resource Squad (OARS), Patient Forward, and the Abortion Policy API.

  • Our goal is to make abortion policy data accessible, dependable, and free for use by anyone, without gatekeeping. We view this resource as a public good, and one that we hope people will use to make information available to those who need it. This ensures that we remain accountable to abortion seekers rather than funders or clients.

    Current users include: Planned Parenthood, Charley the Chatbot, Abortion Finder, Ineedana.com

  • The Abortion Policy API began as an all-volunteer project in 2017 in response to a rise in state specific TRAP laws. In 2024, the API became a sub-project of Patient Forward to enable operational and financial support. Patient Forward is a fiscally sponsored project of NEO Philanthropy.

    The Abortion Policy API project is co-led by Julie Rosing and Garin Marschall.

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