"In Roe v. Wade and subsequent decisions, the high court allowed states to prohibit abortions after the fetus is able to live outside of the womb, with the following exceptions: States may not prohibit abortions necessary to preserve a woman's life or physical or mental health, and states must allow the attending physician to determine when a woman's health is at risk and when the fetus is viable, without requiring a second doctor's opinion. Despite the court's stipulations, some state bans on late-term abortions violate those requirements, though not all have been enjoined by courts. In all, 36 states prohibit abortions after a certain point in pregnancy. Of those, 23 ban abortions at viability; five ban it in the third trimester; and eight ban the procedure after 24 weeks. In conflict with Roe v. Wade , four of the 36 states permit late-term abortions only to save a woman's life, and four use a narrower health definition. Nine states require a second physician to treat the fetus if it is born alive, and 10 states require a second physician to certify that the abortion is medically necessary."