When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade four decades ago, it theoretically gave all women across the country equal access to safe, legal abortion in the early stages of pregnancy.
In some states, though, that guarantee has been whittled down from a constitutional right to a mere concept. But unless a woman tried to seek an abortion in two states with dramatically different regulations, it's unlikely she would know this.
Her path to an abortion, depending on the fate of geography, could be straightforward or riddled with obstacles.
A low-income woman can get coverage for an abortion through Medicaid in one state but be denied in another state, unless her life is endangered or she's the victim of rape or incest.
In states where there are a handful of abortion providers, sometimes by legislative design, she may have to travel hundreds of miles and pay for hotel and childcare costs. Or she may live in a state with dozens of providers who are easily accessible.
She may be forced to undergo mandatory counseling filled with biased and misleading information about the medical and psychological risks of abortion. Or she may simply give her voluntary consent after reviewing the procedure with her physician.
In the past few years, however, the barriers she faces have proliferated and become harder to overcome. They include stringent building regulations that effectively shuttered clinics, and bans on abortion in the first trimester or prior to viability — a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.
Many of these laws, new and old, take women seeking an abortion for careless stewards of their own lives. Their logic assumes a woman is incapable of making difficult decisions without the state whispering in her ear at every turn.
In March, the Supreme Court will hear the most significant challenge to abortion restrictions in years. The nine justices will decide whether a certain set of these laws, passed in Texas in 2013, pose an "undue burden" to women who seek an abortion. Their decision could protect and restore abortion access for all Americans or unravel the precedent set 40 years ago by Roe v. Wade.
In the meantime, if you want to know what it's like to access abortion in America today in different states, try your luck with the below flowchart.
Additional reporting by Chelsea Frisbie.