{"schema":"abhortion.org/legislation.full/v1","id":"legality-us-vt","type":"legislation","level":"state","jurisdiction":"Vermont","as_of_date":"2026-07-12","research_completed_date":"2026-07-12","headline":"Protected by constitution; no gestational limit","summary":"Abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy in Vermont, protected by both statute and a constitutional amendment, with no gestational limit, no mandatory waiting periods, and no parental involvement requirements.","machine_readable_summary":{"legal_classification":"protected_by_constitution","gestational_limit_weeks":null,"limit_measured_from":null,"abortion_currently_available":"yes","ban_or_limit_enjoined":false,"mother_expressly_exempt":true,"mother_prosecutable_in_practice":false,"self_managed_abortion_criminalized":false,"abortion_charged_as_homicide":false,"fetal_homicide_law":false,"fetal_wrongful_death_action":true,"personhood_language_in_law":false,"personhood_contradiction":false,"medication_abortion_distinct_status":true,"mailing_pills_banned":false,"method_bans":[],"telehealth_prescribing_allowed":true,"physician_only_law":false,"provider_max_penalty":null,"helpers_criminally_exposed":false,"travel_assistance_criminalized":false,"civil_bounty_law":false,"shield_state":true,"waiting_period_hours":null,"state_scripted_counseling":false,"ultrasound_required":"none","in_person_visits_required":0,"parental_involvement":"none","judicial_bypass_available":"not_applicable","spousal_consent_or_notice_on_books":false,"medicaid_coverage":"broader_than_hyde","private_insurance_restricted":false,"state_funding_posture":"funds_providers","rape_incest_exception":"not_applicable","exceptions_present":[],"major_pending_change":false},"links":{"html":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/vt.html","markdown":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/vt.md","summary_json":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/vt.json","full_json":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/vt-full.json","verbose_json":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/vt-verbose.json"},"overview":{"title":"Protected by constitution; no gestational limit","summary":"Abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy in Vermont, protected by both statute and a constitutional amendment, with no gestational limit, no mandatory waiting periods, and no parental involvement requirements.","description":"Abortion is legal in Vermont at any point in pregnancy. There is no cutoff based on how many weeks pregnant a person is. Vermont's constitution explicitly protects the right to personal reproductive autonomy, and state law reinforces that right. There are no mandatory waiting periods, no required ultrasounds, no parental consent or notification rules for minors, and no spousal involvement requirements. Vermont is what advocates call a 'shield state,' meaning it actively protects providers and patients from out-of-state investigations or prosecutions related to legal abortion care provided in Vermont. Medication abortion is accessible, including through telehealth, and the state has taken special steps to protect access to mifepristone and misoprostol even if federal approval changes.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"FindLaw / Vermont Legislature","href":"https://codes.findlaw.com/vt/vermont-constitution/vt-const-ch-i-art-22"},{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"sections":{"definitions":{"title":"Broad definition; includes pregnancy loss management","summary":"Vermont law defines 'abortion' broadly as any medical treatment to terminate a clinically diagnosable pregnancy except to produce a live birth, and separately defines 'reproductive health care services' to include contraception, assisted reproduction, pregnancy loss management, and termination of pregnancy.","description":"Vermont uses a broad set of definitions. Under the insurance-coverage statute, 'abortion' means any medical treatment intended to end a pregnancy, except when the purpose is to produce a live birth. A separate, even broader definition of 'reproductive health care services' covers everything related to pregnancy — contraception, assisted reproduction, pregnancy loss management (like miscarriage care), and termination of pregnancy. This means that care for miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy is explicitly included in the definition of protected reproductive health care, and the law does not treat it as a separate or suspect category.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"current_status":{"title":"Abortion legal at all stages; no restrictions","summary":"Abortion is legal throughout pregnancy in Vermont, protected by both state statute (18 V.S.A. Chapter 223) and the state constitution (Chapter I, Article 22), with no gestational-age cutoff, no mandatory delays, and no ancillary restrictions.","description":"In Vermont today, a person can obtain an abortion at any stage of pregnancy. There is no law that limits abortion based on how many weeks pregnant a person is. In 2019, the legislature passed a law explicitly recognizing abortion as a fundamental right and prohibiting any public entity from interfering with it. Then in November 2022, Vermont voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment — Article 22 — that enshrines personal reproductive autonomy in the state constitution. The practical result is that Vermont has no gestational limits, no waiting periods, no mandatory ultrasounds, no required parental involvement for minors, and no restrictions on the method of abortion.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"},{"name":"FindLaw","href":"https://codes.findlaw.com/vt/vermont-constitution/vt-const-ch-i-art-22"},{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/13/003/00101"}]},"enforcement_status":{"title":"Full force and effect; no injunctions","summary":"All Vermont abortion-protective laws are in full force and effect; no abortion restriction is currently enjoined because no restrictive law exists; the pre-Roe criminal abortion statute was repealed in 2014.","description":"Every Vermont law protecting or regulating abortion is currently in full effect. There are no court injunctions blocking any part of Vermont's abortion framework, because Vermont has no restrictive abortion laws to enjoin. The state's former criminal abortion law was repealed by the legislature in 2014, and the Vermont Supreme Court had already declared it unconstitutional as applied to physicians in 1972. The constitutional amendment, the 2019 statutory protection, the shield laws, and the insurance-coverage mandate are all operative today.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"},{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/cases/vermont/supreme-court/1972/1-72-0.html"},{"name":"VTDigger / ADF Legal","href":"https://vtdigger.org/2025/06/05/anti-abortion-advocates-drop-federal-lawsuit-against-vermont-after-lawmakers-nix-language-targeting-crisis-pregnancy-centers"}]},"exceptions":{"life":{"title":"Not applicable; no ban to except from","type":"life","summary":"Because Vermont imposes no gestational-age limit or other ban on abortion, a life exception is unnecessary; abortion to preserve the pregnant person's life is lawful at any stage as a matter of course.","description":"Vermont does not have a life exception because it doesn't need one — abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy for any reason. If a pregnant person's life is at risk, abortion care is treated no differently than any other abortion: it is fully legal and protected.","verification":"not_applicable","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"physical_health":{"title":"Not applicable; no ban to except from","type":"physical_health","summary":"Vermont has no abortion ban, so no physical-health exception is needed; abortion for physical health reasons is lawful at any stage.","description":"Because abortion is legal throughout pregnancy in Vermont, there is no need for a special exception when the pregnant person's physical health is at stake. Such abortions are fully legal and treated the same as any other abortion.","verification":"not_applicable","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"mental_health":{"title":"Not applicable; no ban to except from","type":"mental_health","summary":"Vermont has no abortion ban, so no mental-health exception is needed.","description":"Mental health is not a separate exception in Vermont law because no exception is necessary — all abortions, for any reason including mental health, are legal throughout pregnancy.","verification":"not_applicable","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"rape":{"title":"Not applicable; no ban to except from","type":"rape","summary":"Vermont has no abortion ban, so no rape exception is needed.","description":"Vermont does not have a rape exception because no ban exists to make exceptions to. Abortion after rape is fully legal at any stage.","verification":"not_applicable","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"incest":{"title":"Not applicable; no ban to except from","type":"incest","summary":"Vermont has no abortion ban, so no incest exception is needed.","description":"No incest exception is necessary because abortion is legal at all stages regardless of the circumstances of conception.","verification":"not_applicable","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"fatal_fetal_anomaly":{"title":"Not applicable; no ban to except from","type":"fatal_fetal_anomaly","summary":"Vermont has no abortion ban, so no fetal-anomaly exception is needed.","description":"Abortion for fetal anomaly is fully legal at any stage without needing a special exception.","verification":"not_applicable","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"ectopic_miscarriage_carveout":{"title":"Expressly protected as reproductive health care","type":"ectopic_miscarriage_carveout","summary":"Pregnancy loss management, including ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage care, is expressly included in the statutory definition of 'reproductive health care services' and is fully protected.","description":"Vermont law explicitly includes 'pregnancy loss management' in its definition of reproductive health care services. This means that treatment for ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, and other pregnancy loss is treated as protected reproductive health care — not as a separate exception to a ban, but as part of the core definition of what the law protects.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]}},"methods":{"procedural_surgical":{"title":"Fully legal; no method-specific bans","summary":"All procedural abortion methods, including D&E and D&X, are legal in Vermont at any stage of pregnancy; no method-specific bans exist.","description":"Surgical or procedural abortion is fully legal in Vermont at any point in pregnancy. Vermont does not ban any specific abortion method — there is no prohibition on dilation and evacuation (D&E), no ban on what opponents call 'partial-birth abortion' (intact dilation and extraction or D&X), and no restriction on later abortion procedures. Providers determine the appropriate method based on their professional judgment and the standard of care.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"medication":{"title":"Fully legal; protected even if FDA withdraws approval","summary":"Medication abortion (mifepristone/misoprostol) is legal at all stages; Vermont uniquely protects access even if the FDA withdraws approval, and telehealth prescribing with online questionnaires is authorized.","description":"Medication abortion using the two-pill regimen (mifepristone and misoprostol) is fully legal in Vermont. The state has gone further than most by passing a law that explicitly protects access to these medications even if the federal Food and Drug Administration were to withdraw its approval. Vermont also allows providers to prescribe abortion medication through telehealth — meaning a patient can consult with a provider remotely, including through an online health questionnaire, and receive the medication by mail or at a pharmacy. This is significant for people who live far from a clinic, who want privacy, or who travel from states with restrictive laws.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"},{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.28"}]},"self_managed":{"title":"Expressly exempt; no criminal exposure","summary":"A person who self-manages their own abortion is expressly shielded from prosecution by Vermont statute; the state prohibits law enforcement from prosecuting any individual for their own abortion.","description":"If a person ends their own pregnancy without a doctor — for example, by obtaining abortion pills online or using other methods — they cannot be prosecuted in Vermont. State law explicitly says: 'No State or local law enforcement shall prosecute any individual for inducing, performing, or attempting to induce or perform the individual's own abortion.' This is one of the strongest mother-exemption provisions in the country. It means that self-managed abortion is not a crime in Vermont, and a person who self-manages faces no criminal exposure under state law.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]}},"actors":{"who_may_perform":{"title":"Any licensed provider within scope of practice; no physician-only rule","summary":"Vermont does not restrict abortion to physicians; advanced practice clinicians (nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, physician assistants) may provide abortion care within their scope of practice, and no hospital or admitting-privileges requirements exist.","description":"Vermont does not limit who can perform an abortion to doctors only. Nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, and physician assistants can provide both medication abortion and procedural (aspiration) abortion, as long as it falls within their professional scope of practice. There is no requirement that abortions be performed in a hospital, and no requirement that providers have admitting privileges at a hospital. This means more clinicians can offer abortion care and more locations are available.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"criminal_civil_exposure":{"pregnant_woman":{"title":"Expressly exempt; no prosecution permitted","summary":"The pregnant person is unambiguously shielded from criminal prosecution for her own abortion by 18 V.S.A. § 9494(b); no homicide, drug, or other criminal statute reaches her.","description":"Under Vermont law, a person who has an abortion — whether performed by a doctor or self-managed — cannot be prosecuted. The law explicitly says that no law enforcement officer may prosecute anyone for inducing or performing their own abortion. Vermont also does not have a fetal homicide law, so a pregnant person cannot be charged with murder or manslaughter for ending her pregnancy. She faces no realistic criminal exposure.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"physician":{"title":"No criminal penalty; disciplinary shield in place","summary":"Physicians face no criminal penalty for providing abortion care in Vermont; shield laws protect them from out-of-state professional discipline and extradition.","description":"Doctors who provide abortion care in Vermont face no criminal penalties under state law. The old criminal abortion law that once threatened physicians with prison time was declared unconstitutional in 1972 and repealed in 2014. Under Vermont's shield laws, doctors are also protected from having their licenses disciplined by Vermont licensing boards for providing abortion care, and the state will not cooperate with out-of-state investigations or extradition requests related to lawful abortion care provided in Vermont.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"prescriber_pharmacist":{"title":"Protected from discipline; no criminal exposure","summary":"Non-physician prescribers and dispensing pharmacists face no state criminal penalty for abortion-related prescribing or dispensing, and are protected from professional discipline by Vermont's shield laws.","description":"Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse-midwives, and pharmacists who prescribe or dispense abortion medication in Vermont face no criminal penalties. Vermont's shield laws protect them from professional discipline for providing legal abortion care, even if another state objects. Pharmacists who fill prescriptions for abortion medication, including for patients from other states, are operating within the law and have disciplinary protection.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"nurses_and_staff":{"title":"No criminal exposure; protected as helpers","summary":"Nurses, clinic staff, and other assisting personnel face no criminal liability for assisting in lawful abortion care, and are covered by the shield law's protection of anyone who 'aids or encourages' legally protected health care activity.","description":"Nurses, medical assistants, clinic administrative staff, and anyone else who helps provide abortion care in Vermont faces no criminal exposure. Vermont's shield law broadly protects anyone who 'aids or encourages' legally protected health care activity — which covers the full range of clinical and administrative support roles. Since performing or assisting in abortion is not a crime in Vermont, there is no accomplice liability to trigger.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"other_helpers":{"title":"No criminal or civil exposure","summary":"Friends, family members, employers, and others who pay for, drive to, or otherwise assist in accessing abortion face no criminal or civil liability under Vermont law, and the shield law covers those who 'aid or encourage.'","description":"Anyone who helps a person get an abortion — a friend who drives them to the clinic, a parent who pays for the procedure, an employer who covers travel costs, or a partner who offers emotional support — faces no legal risk under Vermont law. The state's shield law explicitly protects anyone who 'aids or encourages' someone exercising their reproductive rights. Since abortion is fully legal, helping someone access it is not a crime, and there is no civil bounty law allowing private lawsuits against helpers.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]}}},"aiding_and_assisting":{"travel_assistance":{"title":"No criminalization; travel help is protected","summary":"Assisting someone with travel to obtain an abortion — whether within Vermont or to another state — is not criminalized; Vermont has no 'abortion trafficking' law, and its shield law covers aid provided from Vermont.","description":"Helping someone travel to get an abortion is fully legal in Vermont. There is no law that makes it a crime to drive someone across state lines for abortion care, to buy them a bus or plane ticket, or to arrange their travel. Vermont's shield law goes further: it protects people who, while in Vermont, help someone exercise their reproductive rights, even if the help is directed toward someone in another state. Vermont has rejected the 'abortion trafficking' laws that some other states have passed.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"funding":{"title":"No liability; abortion funds operate freely","summary":"Providing financial assistance for abortion or abortion-related travel is not criminalized; abortion funds, employers, and individuals may pay for abortion care without legal exposure in Vermont.","description":"Anyone can pay for someone else's abortion in Vermont without legal risk. This includes abortion funds (nonprofits that help cover the cost of the procedure and related expenses like travel and lodging), employers who provide abortion travel benefits, family members, and friends. Vermont law does not penalize funding, and the shield law extends protection to anyone who aids or encourages reproductive health care.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"mailing_pills":{"title":"No state prohibition; shield law protects","summary":"Mailing abortion medication into or within Vermont is not prohibited by state law; Vermont's shield law affirmatively protects the provision of medication abortion, including by mail, as legally protected health care activity.","description":"There is no Vermont law that bans mailing abortion pills into or within the state. In fact, Vermont's laws go the other way: they protect the provision of medication abortion as part of legally protected health care. The 2025 update to the shield law (S.28) explicitly supports telehealth prescribing using online questionnaires, which means pills can lawfully be prescribed remotely and shipped. The state does not enforce any prohibition on receiving abortion medication by mail.","verification":"verified","confidence":"medium","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"providing_information":{"title":"No liability; First Amendment protections recognized","summary":"Providing information about abortion, including referrals and website links, is not criminalized in Vermont; the state's sole regulation of health care advertising — the crisis-pregnancy-center provisions — was narrowed in 2025 to avoid First Amendment concerns after litigation.","description":"Giving someone information about abortion — telling them where to go, sharing a website, or providing a phone number — is not a crime in Vermont. The state does not restrict speech about abortion access. A 2023 law that specifically regulated advertising by 'limited-services pregnancy centers' (anti-abortion counseling centers) was challenged in federal court on First Amendment grounds. In 2025, the legislature amended the law to apply broad consumer-protection standards to all health care advertising rather than singling out pregnancy centers, and the lawsuit was dropped. The law now prohibits any person from making false or misleading claims about health care services they provide, without targeting any particular viewpoint.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://vtdigger.org/2025/06/05/anti-abortion-advocates-drop-federal-lawsuit-against-vermont-after-lawmakers-nix-language-targeting-crisis-pregnancy-centers"}]},"civil_bounty":{"title":"No civil bounty law","summary":"Vermont has no SB8-style private civil enforcement mechanism; no statute authorizes private individuals to sue abortion providers, patients, or helpers for damages.","description":"Vermont has not adopted anything like Texas's SB8, which lets private citizens sue anyone who 'aids or abets' an abortion for $10,000 or more. There is no law in Vermont that authorizes private lawsuits against abortion providers, patients, or anyone who helps someone obtain an abortion. Vermont law does the opposite: it creates a private right of action for individuals whose reproductive rights have been violated by a public entity, and it authorizes courts to award attorney's fees to prevailing plaintiffs.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]}},"procedural_requirements":{"waiting_period":{"title":"No waiting period","summary":"Vermont imposes no mandatory waiting period between counseling and an abortion procedure; a patient can receive counseling and the procedure on the same day.","description":"There is no required waiting period in Vermont. A person can have a consultation and their abortion procedure on the same day, or over one or two days if they prefer. Vermont law does not force anyone to wait a set number of hours or days between receiving information and undergoing the procedure.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"mandatory_counseling":{"title":"No state-scripted counseling","summary":"Vermont does not mandate any state-scripted counseling, biased information, or specific disclosures before an abortion; informed consent follows standard medical practice.","description":"Vermont does not require anyone to receive state-written counseling materials before an abortion. There is no script that doctors must read, no requirement to describe fetal development, and no mandate to offer information designed to discourage abortion. Doctors follow standard medical informed-consent practices, just as they would for any other medical procedure.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"ultrasound_requirement":{"title":"No ultrasound requirement","summary":"Vermont does not require an ultrasound before an abortion, nor does it mandate that an ultrasound image be displayed, described, or offered.","description":"No one is required to have an ultrasound before getting an abortion in Vermont. There is no law that says a provider must perform an ultrasound, offer to show an ultrasound image, or describe what an ultrasound shows. If an ultrasound is done, it is for medical reasons determined by the provider and patient, not because the state mandates it.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"in_person_visits":{"title":"No mandatory in-person visits","summary":"Vermont requires zero legally compelled in-person visits; telehealth prescribing of medication abortion is authorized, and no mandate forces a separate counseling visit.","description":"There are no legally required in-person visits for abortion in Vermont. For medication abortion, a patient can consult with a provider remotely via telehealth — including through an online health questionnaire as of 2025 — and receive the pills by mail or pharmacy pick-up. For procedural abortion, the number of visits is determined by medical need and provider judgment, not by legal mandate.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-04-25/capitol-recap-lawmakers-vote-to-shore-up-shield-laws-and-allow-online-access-to-abortion-medication"}]}},"minors":{"parental_involvement":{"title":"No parental involvement required","summary":"Minors in Vermont can consent to their own abortion without notifying or obtaining consent from a parent or guardian; no parental-involvement statute exists.","description":"If you are under 18 in Vermont, you can get an abortion without telling your parents or getting their permission. Vermont has no law requiring parental consent or notification. A young person can make the decision on their own and consent to the procedure independently. This means that for a teenager who cannot safely involve a parent — for example, in cases of abuse — there is no legal barrier to accessing care.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"},{"name":"AbortionFinder.org / Reproductive Rights","href":"https://www.abortionfinder.org/abortion-guides-by-state/abortion-in-vermont/abortion-laws"}]},"judicial_bypass":{"title":"Not applicable; no parental requirement to bypass","summary":"Because Vermont has no parental-involvement requirement, there is no need for a judicial-bypass procedure; none exists.","description":"Since Vermont does not require minors to involve their parents in an abortion decision, there is no need for a judicial bypass — the process where a minor asks a judge for permission to get an abortion without parental involvement. No such process exists in Vermont.","verification":"not_applicable","confidence":"high"}},"paternal_spousal_rights":{"consent_or_notice_laws":{"title":"No spousal or paternal consent laws","summary":"Vermont has never enacted a spousal-consent or spousal-notification requirement for abortion; no such statute exists on the books.","description":"Vermont does not require a married person to get their spouse's consent or to notify their spouse before having an abortion. No law of this kind has ever been enacted in Vermont. Similarly, there is no law giving a biological father any right to consent to or veto an abortion.","verification":"semi_verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Justia / U.S. Supreme Court","href":"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/428/52/"}]},"enforceability":{"title":"Unenforceable under binding precedent","summary":"Any hypothetical spousal-consent or notice law would be unenforceable in Vermont under Danforth and Casey, and independently invalid under the Vermont Constitution's Article 22, which Dobbs does not disturb at the state level.","description":"Even if Vermont had a spousal-consent law — and it does not — it couldn't be enforced. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down such laws in 1976 (Danforth) and 1992 (Casey). The Dobbs decision in 2022 overturned the federal constitutional right to abortion, but it did not disturb the holding that spousal-consent laws are unconstitutional — and even if it had, Vermont's own state constitution would bar such a law under Article 22, which applies strict scrutiny to any infringement on reproductive autonomy.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"FindLaw","href":"https://codes.findlaw.com/vt/vermont-constitution/vt-const-ch-i-art-22"}]},"other_paternal_rights":{"title":"No fetus-specific paternal rights","summary":"Vermont law does not grant a biological father any right to veto, delay, or be notified of an abortion; putative-father registries do not confer rights over the unborn; the father has no standing to enjoin an abortion under Vermont law.","description":"A biological father has no legal right under Vermont law to prevent, delay, or even be notified about an abortion. Vermont has no putative-father registry that applies to the unborn, and no court has recognized a father's standing to seek an injunction against an abortion. The father's parental rights arise after birth, not before.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]}},"fetal_personhood":{"fetal_homicide_law":{"title":"No fetal homicide statute","summary":"Vermont has no fetal homicide law; the general homicide statute (13 V.S.A. § 2301) has been interpreted not to include a fetus as a 'person,' and no separate statute criminalizes causing the death of an unborn child.","description":"Vermont does not have a fetal homicide law. This means that if a third party assaults a pregnant person and causes a miscarriage or stillbirth, the attacker cannot be charged with homicide of the fetus under Vermont law. The Vermont Supreme Court has held that 'person' in the state's motor-vehicle homicide statute does not include a viable fetus. No separate statute makes it a crime to kill an unborn child.","verification":"semi_verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"CaseMine","href":"https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/59148a9cadd7b04934514b7c"},{"name":"Pregnancy Justice","href":"https://www.pregnancyjusticeus.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/fetal-homicide-brief-with-appendix-UPDATED.pdf"}]},"wrongful_death":{"title":"Wrongful death action for viable fetus","summary":"Under Vaillancourt v. Medical Center Hospital (1980), Vermont permits a civil wrongful-death action for the negligently caused death of a viable fetus; the claim lies for a stillborn viable fetus, not from conception.","description":"In Vermont, if a viable fetus dies because of someone's negligence — for example, a car accident or medical malpractice — the parents can bring a wrongful-death lawsuit. This was decided by the Vermont Supreme Court in 1980 in the case of Vaillancourt v. Medical Center Hospital. The court said that a viable fetus (one that could survive outside the womb) counts as a 'person' under Vermont's wrongful-death statute. But this applies only to viable fetuses, not to embryos or early-stage fetuses, and it applies only when a third party causes the death — it does not apply to a consensual abortion.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/cases/vermont/supreme-court/1980/4-80-0.html"}]},"personhood_definition":{"title":"No fetal personhood language in law","summary":"Vermont law contains no statutory or constitutional definition of 'person,' 'human being,' or 'child' that includes the unborn; there is no personhood language in Vermont's constitution or statutes.","description":"Vermont law does not define an embryo or fetus as a 'person.' There is no 'fetal personhood' language in the Vermont constitution or in any state statute. This distinguishes Vermont from states that have passed laws declaring that life begins at conception or that an unborn child is a person from fertilization. Vermont has deliberately rejected such definitions by enshrining reproductive autonomy as a constitutional right.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"FindLaw","href":"https://codes.findlaw.com/vt/vermont-constitution/vt-const-ch-i-art-22"}]},"contradictions_analysis":"Vermont's legal framework is internally consistent on fetal personhood in a way that avoids the contradictions seen in many other jurisdictions. There is no fetal homicide statute (resolving the paradox of a state criminalizing third-party fetal killing while permitting abortion). There is no statutory or constitutional fetal-personhood language (avoiding the contradiction of defining the unborn as persons while simultaneously recognizing a fundamental right to abortion). The sole apparent tension is the wrongful-death holding in Vaillancourt, which treats a viable fetus as a 'person' for civil recovery purposes. However, this is a narrow, viability-limited judicial interpretation of a remedial statute, not a legislative declaration of personhood, and it is explicitly a civil remedy directed at third-party tortfeasors — not a basis for restricting abortion. It does not contradict the abortion-protective framework because the wrongful-death remedy does not purport to criminalize abortion or confer fetal rights against the pregnant person. Vermont's constitutional amendment (Article 22) and statutory framework (Chapter 223) occupy the field and would prevail over any attempt to use Vaillancourt to restrict abortion."},"telehealth_and_interstate":{"telehealth_prescribing":{"title":"Telehealth authorized; online questionnaires permitted","summary":"Abortion medication can be prescribed via telehealth to patients in Vermont; the 2025 S.28 (Act 20) explicitly authorizes use of online health questionnaires for prescribing, and the shield law protects providers who prescribe across state lines.","description":"A person in Vermont can get abortion medication through a telehealth appointment — a video call or even an online health questionnaire — without needing to visit a clinic in person. The medication can then be mailed or picked up at a pharmacy. Vermont's 2025 law update (S.28) specifically allows providers to use online questionnaires to prescribe abortion pills, making the process more accessible. The law also protects Vermont providers who prescribe to patients in other states via telehealth.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"},{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-04-25/capitol-recap-lawmakers-vote-to-shore-up-shield-laws-and-allow-online-access-to-abortion-medication"}]},"out_of_state_travel":{"title":"Travel for abortion fully lawful","summary":"Vermont residents may lawfully travel to any state for abortion care; Vermont imposes no restriction on out-of-state travel and has not enacted any law attempting to regulate conduct that occurs entirely outside Vermont.","description":"Vermont does not restrict anyone from traveling to another state to get an abortion. Whether a Vermont resident travels to a neighboring state or across the country, the act of traveling for health care is fully legal under Vermont law. There is no law that tries to penalize out-of-state conduct or that requires a Vermont resident to have an abortion in Vermont.","verification":"not_applicable","confidence":"high"},"shield_or_hostile_laws":{"title":"Strong shield state; robust interstate protections","summary":"Vermont is a leading shield state; its laws protect providers, patients, and helpers from out-of-state investigations, subpoenas, extradition, adverse licensing actions, and insurance discrimination related to lawful abortion care provided in Vermont, including care for out-of-state patients.","description":"Vermont has some of the strongest 'shield laws' in the country. These laws protect Vermont health care providers from being investigated, sued, subpoenaed, extradited, or having their licenses disciplined by other states for providing abortion care that is legal in Vermont — even if the patient traveled from a state where abortion is banned. The shield also protects anyone who helps someone access that care. Vermont state agencies are prohibited from cooperating with out-of-state investigations into legally protected health care. The Governor cannot surrender a person for extradition for legally protected health care activity, except when required by federal law. The 2025 update (S.28) further strengthened these protections by adding privacy measures, allowing providers to remove their names from prescriptions, and expanding advertising regulation.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"},{"name":"Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law","href":"https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Shield-Law-VT-Jul-2025.pdf"}]}},"funding_and_insurance":{"medicaid":{"title":"Medicaid covers abortion beyond Hyde limits","summary":"Vermont's Medicaid program covers abortion beyond the federal Hyde Amendment categories (life, rape, incest) using state funds; coverage is mandated by 8 V.S.A. § 4099e.","description":"Vermont's Medicaid program pays for abortions beyond what federal law requires. Federal law (the Hyde Amendment) only requires Medicaid to cover abortion when the pregnancy results from rape or incest, or when the pregnant person's life is in danger. But Vermont uses its own state money to cover abortion for Medicaid enrollees in additional circumstances. Vermont law (8 V.S.A. § 4099e) mandates that all health insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover abortion and abortion-related care.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"private_insurance":{"title":"Private insurance must cover abortion","summary":"Vermont mandates that all health insurance plans, including private and employer-sponsored plans, cover abortion and abortion-related care with no cost-sharing; this is among the strongest insurance mandates in the country.","description":"In Vermont, private health insurance plans — including plans people get through their jobs — are required by law to cover abortion and abortion-related care. The coverage must be provided without any copays, deductibles, or coinsurance. This means that for most people with health insurance in Vermont, abortion care has no out-of-pocket cost at the point of service. The only exceptions are high-deductible health plans linked to health savings accounts (where federal tax law complicates things) and Medicaid (which may have different cost-sharing rules).","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"exchange_plans":{"title":"ACA exchange plans must cover abortion","summary":"Vermont's insurance mandate applies to plans sold on the ACA marketplace exchange; Vermont requires all health insurance plans in the state to cover abortion with no cost-sharing.","description":"Health insurance plans sold through Vermont's health insurance marketplace (the ACA exchange) are required to cover abortion, just like any other health plan in the state. Vermont does not restrict exchange-plan coverage of abortion. Under the ACA, federal funds cannot be used for abortion beyond the Hyde exceptions, but Vermont's own mandate applies to the plans themselves, and the state segregates funds as needed to comply with federal rules.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},"state_funding_of_providers":{"title":"No defunding; providers funded normally","summary":"Vermont does not defund abortion providers; state funding flows to health care providers without discriminating against those that provide abortion care, and there is no state-level equivalent of the federal Title X 'gag rule' targeting abortion providers.","description":"Vermont does not withhold government funding from health care providers because they also provide abortion services. Unlike some states that have laws prohibiting state funds from going to organizations that perform or refer for abortions, Vermont has no such restriction. Health centers, hospitals, and clinics that provide abortion care are eligible for state funding on the same terms as any other health care provider.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]}}},"penalties":[{"actor":"Pregnant person","offense":"None; self-managed abortion and consensual abortion are not criminalized","penalty":"None; exempted by 18 V.S.A. § 9494(b)","verification":"verified","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},{"actor":"Physician","offense":"None under state law; no criminal abortion statute exists","penalty":"None under Vermont law; shielded from out-of-state professional discipline by 26 V.S.A. § 1354(d) and 3 V.S.A. § 129a(f)","verification":"verified","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/13/003/00101"}]},{"actor":"Non-physician prescriber (APRN, PA, CNM)","offense":"None under state law","penalty":"None; shielded from professional discipline by 3 V.S.A. § 129a(f) and 26 V.S.A. § 1354(d)","verification":"verified","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},{"actor":"Pharmacist","offense":"None under state law; dispensing abortion medication is lawful","penalty":"None; protected by shield provisions","verification":"semi_verified"},{"actor":"Nurses and clinic staff","offense":"None under state law; no underlying crime for accomplice liability","penalty":"None","verification":"semi_verified"},{"actor":"Helpers (friends, family, abortion funds, employers)","offense":"None under state law; no abortion-trafficking or aiding-and-abetting statute","penalty":"None; protected by 1 V.S.A. § 150(b)(1)(B)","verification":"verified","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]}],"recent_changes":[{"date":"2025-05-13","event":"Governor Phil Scott signed S.28 (Act 20), the updated shield bill, which authorizes telehealth prescribing of abortion medication using online health questionnaires, expands consumer-protection regulation of health care advertising to all providers rather than only crisis pregnancy centers, and adds privacy protections allowing providers to remove their names from abortion-medication prescription labels. The law also prompted dismissal of the NIFLA v. Clark federal lawsuit.","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.28"}]},{"date":"2025-06-05","event":"Anti-abortion advocates and crisis pregnancy centers voluntarily dismissed their federal First Amendment lawsuit (NIFLA v. Clark) against Vermont after the legislature amended the challenged statutory language in S.28.","sources":[{"name":"VTDigger","href":"https://vtdigger.org/2025/06/05/anti-abortion-advocates-drop-federal-lawsuit-against-vermont-after-lawmakers-nix-language-targeting-crisis-pregnancy-centers"}]},{"date":"2023-05-10","event":"Governor Phil Scott signed H.89 and S.37 (Act 15), Vermont's first comprehensive shield laws, protecting providers, patients, and helpers from out-of-state investigations and prosecutions related to reproductive and gender-affirming health care; mandating insurance coverage for abortion with no cost-sharing; and regulating crisis pregnancy center advertising.","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},{"date":"2022-11-08","event":"Vermont voters approved Proposal 5 (Article 22), the Reproductive Liberty Amendment, by a margin of 76.77% to 23.23%, enshrining the right to personal reproductive autonomy in the Vermont Constitution.","sources":[{"name":"Ballotpedia","href":"https://ballotpedia.org/Vermont_Proposal_5,_Right_to_Personal_Reproductive_Autonomy_Amendment_(2022)"}]},{"date":"2022-06-24","event":"Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overruled Roe v. Wade; Vermont's pre-existing statutory and constitutional protections meant the state's abortion access was unaffected.","sources":[{"name":"U.S. Supreme Court","href":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf"}]},{"date":"2019-06-10","event":"Governor Phil Scott signed Act 47 (H.57), codifying the 'fundamental right' to abortion in Vermont statute (18 V.S.A. Chapter 223) and expressly prohibiting prosecution of individuals for their own abortions.","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf"}]},{"date":"2014-03-24","event":"The pre-Roe criminal abortion statute (13 V.S.A. §§ 101-104), already held unconstitutional as applied to physicians in Beecham v. Leahy (1972), was formally repealed by the Vermont Legislature.","sources":[{"name":"Vermont Legislature","href":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/13/003/00101"}]},{"date":"1972-01-14","event":"Vermont Supreme Court in Beecham v. Leahy invalidated the state's criminal abortion statute as applied to physicians, holding that the legislature, 'having affirmed the right of a woman to abort, cannot simultaneously, by denying medical aid in all but cases where it is necessary to preserve her life, prohibit its safe exercise.' Vermont thus legalized abortion a year before Roe v. Wade.","sources":[{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/cases/vermont/supreme-court/1972/1-72-0.html"}]}],"pending_changes":[{"name":"Federal Comstock Act enforcement uncertainty","type":"litigation","status":"Nationally, the interpretation and enforcement of the Comstock Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 1461-1462) as applied to abortion medication mailed across state lines is unsettled. Vermont's shield law would resist any such enforcement, but no federal court has adjudicated whether state shield laws can lawfully obstruct federal Comstock Act prosecutions.","effect":"If the federal government were to enforce the Comstock Act against mailing of abortion medication into or from Vermont, Vermont's shield-law protections could be tested in federal court. A ruling that the Comstock Act preempts state shield laws could significantly impair Vermont's ability to protect medication-abortion access, including telehealth prescribing to out-of-state patients.","sources":[{"name":"U.S. Code","href":"https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1461"}]}],"key_authorities":[{"name":"Vermont Constitution, Chapter I, Article 22 (Reproductive Liberty Amendment)","citation":"Vt. Const. ch. I, art. 22","type":"constitution","url":"https://codes.findlaw.com/vt/vermont-constitution/vt-const-ch-i-art-22","why":"Establishes personal reproductive autonomy as a constitutional right protected by strict scrutiny — the highest legal standard — requiring any infringement to be justified by a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means."},{"name":"18 V.S.A. Chapter 223 (Act 47 of 2019) — Reproductive Rights / Freedom of Choice Act","citation":"18 V.S.A. §§ 9493-9498","type":"statute","url":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2020/Docs/ACTS/ACT047/ACT047%20As%20Enacted.pdf","why":"Codifies abortion as a fundamental right; prohibits public entities from interfering with reproductive choice; expressly bars prosecution of individuals for their own abortions; creates a private right of action with attorney's fees for violations."},{"name":"Act 15 of 2023 (1 V.S.A. § 150; 8 V.S.A. § 4099e; 3 V.S.A. § 129a; 26 V.S.A. § 1354) — Shield Law and Insurance Mandate","citation":"2023, Act 15","type":"statute","url":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/Docs/ACTS/ACT015/ACT015%20As%20Enacted.pdf","why":"Establishes Vermont's comprehensive shield-law framework protecting providers, patients, and helpers from out-of-state actions; mandates insurance coverage for abortion with no cost-sharing; protects medication abortion regardless of FDA status."},{"name":"Act 20 of 2025 (S.28) — Updated Shield Bill","citation":"2025, Act 20 (S.28)","type":"statute","url":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.28","why":"Updates shield laws; authorizes telehealth prescribing of abortion medication using online questionnaires; broadens advertising regulation; adds provider-privacy protections; prompted dismissal of NIFLA v. Clark litigation."},{"name":"Beecham v. Leahy","citation":"287 A.2d 836 (Vt. 1972)","type":"case","url":"https://law.justia.com/cases/vermont/supreme-court/1972/1-72-0.html","why":"The Vermont Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in Vermont a year before Roe v. Wade by striking down the criminal abortion statute as applied to physicians; remains foundational precedent."},{"name":"Vaillancourt v. Medical Center Hospital of Vermont","citation":"425 A.2d 92 (Vt. 1980)","type":"case","url":"https://law.justia.com/cases/vermont/supreme-court/1980/4-80-0.html","why":"Held that a viable fetus is a 'person' for purposes of Vermont's wrongful-death statute, allowing civil recovery for negligently caused stillbirth; creates a limited, viability-based fetal civil status."},{"name":"State v. Oliver","citation":"No. 87-512 (Vt.)","type":"case","url":"https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/59148a9cadd7b04934514b7c","why":"Held that 'person' in Vermont's motor-vehicle homicide statute does not include a viable fetus, confirming that Vermont does not recognize fetal homicide absent express legislative action."},{"name":"13 V.S.A. §§ 101-104 (Repealed 2014)","citation":"2013, No. 98 (Adj. Sess.), § 1","type":"statute","url":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/13/003/00101","why":"The pre-Roe criminal abortion statute, formally repealed in 2014, confirms that no zombie or trigger law exists in Vermont; the state has no criminal abortion law to revive."},{"name":"U.S. Constitution — Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization","citation":"597 U.S. 215 (2022)","type":"constitution","url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf","why":"Overruled Roe v. Wade, returning abortion regulation to the states; had no direct effect on Vermont because Vermont had independently protected abortion through statute (2019) and constitution (2022)."}],"research_notes":{"overall_confidence":"high","editor_notes":"Verify the enrolled text of Act 20 of 2025 (S.28) for precise statutory amendments to 1 V.S.A. § 150 and related provisions regarding online questionnaires, privacy protections, and advertising regulation. Confirm the current status of any HHS investigation into Vermont's insurance-coverage mandate. Re-check the Vermont legislature's statutes page for any interim amendments enacted after July 2025. State v. Oliver is cited from a secondary source (CaseMine); locate the official Vermont Supreme Court reporter citation if available.","gaps":["The enrolled text of Act 20 of 2025 (S.28) has not been independently reviewed in full; secondary sources (Vermont Public, VTDigger) describe its provisions. An editor should verify the precise statutory language for online-questionnaire prescribing and provider-name privacy.","The HHS investigation into Vermont's insurance-coverage mandate is reported in secondary sources but the precise status and docket number have not been confirmed from primary federal sources.","The scope of 'physically present in this State' in 1 V.S.A. § 150(b)(1)(B) as applied to telehealth prescribing — specifically whether a Vermont provider traveling temporarily out of state remains 'physically present' — has not been addressed by any Vermont court or agency guidance.","The interaction between Vermont's shield-law extradition bar and the federal Extradition Clause (U.S. Const. art. IV, § 2, cl. 2) and the Extradition Act (18 U.S.C. § 3182) has not been tested in any reported decision."]}}