A dismemberment abortion—also known as a dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion—is an abortion in which a person dismembers and extracts the unborn child from the uterus through the use of clamps, grasping forceps, tongs, scissors, or a similar instrument. Some states have passed dismemberment abortion bans. These laws are usually located in a state’s statutes.

Laws vary from state to state and under some state laws the term dismemberment abortion does not include an abortion that uses suction to dismember the body of an unborn child by sucking pieces of the unborn child into a collection container. The term includes a dismemberment abortion that is used to cause the death of an unborn child and in which suction is subsequently used to extract pieces of the unborn child after the unborn child's death.

In California, there are no specific bans on dismemberment abortions, also known as dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortions. California generally protects the right to choose an abortion prior to the viability of the fetus, without imposing specific method restrictions like those described for dismemberment abortions. The state follows the legal framework established by the federal law, which allows for D&E procedures. California's Reproductive Privacy Act (Health & Safety Code, Section 123460-123468) ensures that a woman has the fundamental right to choose to bear a child or to choose and to obtain an abortion, subject to viability. The state does not include specific language in its statutes that would ban the described method of abortion, and it is known for having relatively accessible abortion services compared to other states.