Deer vs. Wade is no more, but abortions are increasing in the United States

More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, one thing seems clear: So far, new state bans have done little to dissuade women from having abortions.

Data released Tuesday shows the number of abortions increased slightly in the year following the high court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. That ruling, issued in June 2022, ended federal protections for the procedure and cleared the way for about 16 states to ban most or most abortions.

Data indicate that abortion providers, funders and others have quickly adapted to a profoundly changed legal landscape. Access to abortion has been disrupted in much of the South, and demand has increased in states where abortion is still legal. Many suppliers have had to significantly increase their capacity.

The findings also highlight the challenges facing anti-abortion groups, as the ease of traveling to another state or obtaining abortion pills online appears to largely undermine laws aimed at reducing abortions.

In the new study, WeCount, an abortion data project sponsored by the Planned Parenthood Society, which supports abortion rights, found that nationally there were 183 more monthly abortions on average during the 12 months following the Dobbs decision, compared to the monthly average before. decision. This trend mirrors similar findings from the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that also supports abortion rights, which showed that the number of abortions increased in most states in the first half of this year compared to to 2020, the most recent year for which data is available. .

“I was surprised to see more and more evidence that abortions have seen an uptick,” said Caitlin Myers, an economics professor at Middlebury College who has studied abortion data.

While it has become much more difficult to obtain an abortion in states where bans have recently been enacted since the end of Roe, it actually appears to have become easier in many other states, thanks to increased attention and resources increased. Abortion Funds, nonprofit organizations that help finance abortions and the logistics associated with them, have raised millions to help low-income women pay for procedures and travel, while new clinics have opened in states like Illinois and New Mexico, which have become important destinations for women. women traveling from other states.

According to WeCount data, nearly 115,000 fewer abortions were performed in the year following the Dobbs decision in states that banned abortions throughout pregnancy or after six weeks. At the same time, states like Illinois, Florida and North Carolina, where the procedure remains largely legal, saw an increase of 117,000 abortions.

The data does not include women who order pills online from abroad outside the formal medical system, a practice that appears to have become more common.

Efforts to help women travel also appear to have made abortion easier for some state residents. For example, offering more telehealth appointments to meet increased demand may also make appointments more accessible to women in rural areas.

In California, Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino counties doubled the number of open appointments available for medication abortions at its nine locations in spring 2022, in anticipation of the high court ruling, Krista Hollinger said , director of operations for the Planned Parenthood branch.

These centers have seen an increase in out-of-state patients, but more California women are also getting abortions. Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties has seen a 20% increase in total volume since June 2022, while only about 3% of that increase came from out-of-state patients.

Abortion providers say that while the number of abortions has not decreased significantly, the laws have created obstacles. For example, women forced to travel out of state to have an abortion may need to take time off work and involve friends and family in a private medical decision because they need help with travel or care of their children. The bans also delay some abortions during pregnancy, when they become more complicated and expensive.

For abortion advocates, the policy options available to combat the ease of traveling and obtaining pills online present major challenges. Any effort to prevent women from traveling out of state for abortions could face constitutional challenges. It is difficult to restrict the use of abortion pills ordered online from foreign or out-of-state actors without punishing women who take them, something anti-abortion groups have long vowed to avoid.

Abortion opponents are fighting hard to gain support from Republican presidential candidates for a national limit on abortion, but such a proposal has little hope of passing the current Congress.

“We are now forced to look at this as a national issue,” said Katie Daniel, state policy director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion group.

Daniel said the anti-abortion movement could end up in federal court to again challenge shielding laws passed in several Democratic states designed to provide legal protection to doctors who prescribe pills to women in banned states.

Although few states appear likely to pass new abortion bans in the coming months, the outlook for abortion access remains fragile. In Florida, which has seen one of the largest increases in abortions since the Dobbs ruling, the state’s highest court is expected to soon issue a ruling that could allow a six-week ban to take effect .

In the first month since North Carolina passed the 12-week limit, the number of abortions in the state decreased by nearly a third compared to the previous month, according to Guttmacher. The law increased requirements for in-person medical visits, which providers say has virtually eliminated out-of-state patient visits.

A challenge to the approval of a widely used abortion pill appears to be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court and, if successful, could disrupt access to the pill nationwide over the next year .

Abortion rights groups also acknowledge they face internal risks, including staff burnout at clinics that remain open and a decline in their fundraising capacity if public attention wanes .

The Chicago Abortion Fund has quadrupled its staff and tripled its budget since 2021. The fund has provided approximately $4.5 million to thousands of patients to help them purchase plane, train and bus tickets; hotel stays; childcare; and other costs since Roe was overturned.

“It’s not a long-term solution,” said Megan Jefyio, executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund. “We are facing competition crises in this country and I don’t know how long we will have this sustained support.”