A new survey finds that the total number of abortions provided in the U.S. last year increased slightly after bans and restrictions went into effect in some states.
The report was released this week from the Society of Family Planning, which advocates for abortion access. It found that the numbers fell to nearly zero in states with bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy. But numbers surged elsewhere, particularly in states near those with bans. The report says clinics that provide abortion medication through online appointments and funding for patients to travel to and from appointments may be factors in the increase.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade took away a person’s constitutional right to access abortion care and cleared the way for restrictions and total bans in some states.
Arizona currently bans abortion in most cases after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with no exception for rape or incest.
Since last year, most Republican-controlled states have enacted restrictions, while most Democrat-controlled states have extended protections for those from out of state seeking abortion.
“The Dobbs decision turned abortion access in this country upside down,” Alison Norris, a co-chair for the study, known as WeCount, and a professor at The Ohio State University's College of Public Health, said in a statement. “The fact that abortions increased overall in the past year shows what happens when abortion access is improved, and some previously unmet need for abortion is met." But she noted that bans make access harder — and sometimes impossible — for some people.
Meanwhile, an anti-abortion group celebrated that the number of abortions in states with the tightest restrictions declined by nearly 115,000. “WeCount’s report confirms pro-life protections in states are having a positive impact,” Tessa Longbons, a senior researcher for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, said in a statement.
Abortion bans and restrictions are consistently met with court challenges, and judges have put some of them on hold. Currently, laws are being enforced in 14 states that bar abortion throughout pregnancy, with limited exceptions, and two more that ban it after cardiac activity can be detected — usually around six weeks of gestational age and before many women realize they're pregnant.
In all, abortions provided by clinics, hospitals, medical offices and virtual-only clinics rose by nearly 200 a month nationally from July 2022 through June 2023 compared with May and June 2022. The numbers do not reflect abortion obtained outside the medical system — such as by getting pills from a friend. The data also do not account for seasonal variation in abortion, which tends to happen most often in the spring.
The states with big increases include Illinois, California and New Mexico, where state government is controlled by Democrats. But also among them are Florida and North Carolina, where restrictions have been put into place since the Dobbs ruling.
The researchers pointed to several factors for the numbers rising, including more funding and organization to help women in states with bans travel to those where abortion is legal, an increase in medication abortion through online-only clinics, more capacity in states where abortion remains legal later in pregnancy and possibly less stigma associated with ending pregnancies.
Nationally, the number of abortions has also been rising since 2017.