Official Site of The State of New Jersey

Every individual present in the State of New Jersey has a fundamental right to:

• Choose or refuse contraception, including emergency contraception
• Choose or refuse sterilization
• Choose whether to carry a pregnancy to term
• Choose whether and how to give birth
• Choose whether and how to terminate a pregnancy

This includes, but is not limited to, those who are under State control or supervision/incarceration.

The New Jersey Constitution recognizes the fundamental nature of the right to reproductive choice, including the right to access contraception, to terminate a pregnancy, and to carry a pregnancy to term, shall not be abridged by any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or order issued by any State, county, or local governmental authority.

The Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act (P.L. 2021, c. 375), signed into law in January 2022, specifically recognized the existing state constitutional protections and codified reproductive rights into State law.  As outlined in the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act, the New Jersey Legislature and Governor Murphy are committed to ensuring that no barriers to reproductive freedom exist in the State.

Pregnant individuals continue to have all other rights, including but not limited to rights as a patient in a health care facility.

The right to an abortion is guaranteed to all pregnant individuals in New Jersey.

New Jersey protected abortion care and access includes:

• People who live in another state. Care is not restricted to New Jersey residents.
• If you are receiving abortion services in New Jersey and are traveling from a state where these services are illegal, New Jersey law protects you from being extradited in connection with receiving services permitted in New Jersey.
• People who are under the age of 18 years old, without parental consent or permission. Anyone who is pregnant can consent to their health care.

Patients in New Jersey have options for both medication and procedure-based abortion care. Talk to your provider about the care best for you. Patients in New Jersey can get prescriptions for medication abortion through online telehealth appointments, and pills may be mailed to you. You may terminate a pregnancy on your own in New Jersey.

Although in many states abortion is now nearly completely banned or severely restricted, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) did not ban or limit the right to abortion in New Jersey.

The right to choose or refuse contraception is guaranteed to all individuals in New Jersey.

• If you are receiving reproductive health care services, including but not limited to contraception, in New Jersey and are traveling from a state where these services are illegal, New Jersey law protects you from being extradited.

Contraception, or birth control, helps prevent pregnancies and helps plan the number and spacing of children.  There are many options to choose from to prevent pregnancy.  Some methods are more effective than others, and no one product is best for everyone.  Your choice of birth control may be informed by your health, your desire to have children now or in the future, your need to prevent sexually transmitted infections, and/or other factors.

According to the United States Food and Drug Administration, birth control includes but is not limited to:

• Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) like intrauterine devices (IUDs), intrauterine systems (IUSs), implantable rods, and contraceptive injections (like the Depo-Provera progestin shot).
• Short-acting hormonal methods like estrogen and progestin or progestin-only oral contraceptives (“the pill”), patches, and vaginal contraceptive rings.
• Barrier methods like male and female condoms, spermicide, cervical caps, sponges, and diaphragms.
• Sterilization surgery like trans-abdominal surgeries for female reproductive systems and vasectomies for male reproductive systems.
• Emergency contraception methods like Levonorgestrel and Ulipristal acetrate.

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires that, for any individual showing up to the hospital with an emergency medical condition, the hospital is required to provide you with the emergency care necessary to save your life, including abortion care in an emergency.

Sexual violence is any sexual act that is perpetrated against someone’s will. If you have experienced sexual violence, seek medical attention for injuries, sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and possible pregnancy. Hospitals and satellite emergency departments are required to provide care and information to sexual assault victims about emergency contraception and to provide contraceptives upon request.

General information about patient rights in New Jersey hospitals is available from the Department of Health. You can find your nearest acute care hospital using this map and this directory.

If you are subject to harassment or intimidation while attempting to obtain health care, including abortion care, contact local law enforcement or your County Prosecutor.

If you wish to make a complaint against a New Jersey health care facility:

• If you are willing to provide your name and contact information, you may file a complaint online with the Department of Health.
• Otherwise, you may make an anonymous complaint at the Department of Health complaint hotline by calling 1-800-792-9770, which is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

If you wish to make a complaint against a physician practicing in New Jersey, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs’ Board of Medical Examiners accepts complaints submitted online.

If you wish to make a complaint against a nurse practicing in New Jersey, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs’ New Jersey Board of Nursing accepts complaints submitted online.

If you believe you have experienced discrimination during your treatment or attempt to receive treatment, you can file a complaint with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR). DCR enforces the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD).  The LAD is one of the most comprehensive anti-discrimination laws in the country.  The LAD protects people in places open to the public (like clinics, hospitals, and private medical offices), housing and employment based upon various protected characteristics like gender, race, sexual orientation, pregnancy, disability, religion, and other characteristics.  The LAD prohibits retaliation against a person for complaining about discrimination or bias based harassment, or otherwise exercising or attempting to exercise their rights under the law. More information about how to file a complaint for discrimination and bias-based harassment is available from DCR.

New Jersey State law prohibits any provider of reproductive health care services, including abortion, from sharing information without your consent.

P.L. 2022, c.51 prevents, with limited exceptions, the disclosure of a patient’s medical records related to reproductive health care without their consent in any civil, probate, legislative or administrative proceeding. The law also prohibits public entities and employees from cooperating with interstate investigations aiming to hold someone liable for seeking, receiving, facilitating, or providing reproductive health care services that are legal in New Jersey, unless cooperation is required by a valid court order or by New Jersey or federal law.

Be aware that if you are on another person’s health plan in New Jersey, such as a parent or spouse, your reproductive health care information may not be private and may be provided to the holder of the plan through your insurance company.

New Jersey is working to advance reproductive justice, such that all people have the power and resources to safely make healthy, independent decisions about their bodies, sexuality, and reproductive health.