The number of abortions in the U.S. rose significantly from 2020 to 2023 — despite several states enacting abortion bans since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, according to a new report.
There were more than one million abortions in 2023, a 10 percent increase from 2020, according to a report released Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that aims to improve sexual health and expand reproductive rights around the world.
“This is the highest number in more than a decade, [and] the first time there have been more than a million abortions in the official US healthcare system since 2012,” Isaac Maddow-Zimet, a data scientist with Guttmacher, told NPR.
The study noted that in states that restrict access to abortion, such as Arizona and Georgia, the number of abortions decreased. In Arizona and Georgia, the number of abortions decreased by 10% and 22%, respectively. Wisconsin and Indiana, states with outright bans in place for most of 2023, also saw large reductions.
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However, nearby states where abortion was legal saw significant increases. New Mexico saw a staggering 257% increase in abortions between 2020 and 2023, while Kansas saw a 114% increase. In the eastern part of the USA, in South Carolina the number of abortions increased by 67%, while in Virginia there was a 76% increase. Wyoming had the largest increase in abortions of any state at 271%.
The study also found that the number of people traveling from states with a complete ban on abortion to neighboring states and to all other states in general increased from 9% to 16%. Researchers at the Guttmacher Institute noted that more than 160,000 patients traveled out of state to obtain an abortion in 2023.
“It is very possible that while access has been dramatically reduced for people living in ban states, access has greatly improved for residents of non-ban states,” the study’s researchers wrote.
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Some experts believe that the number of abortions may actually be much higher than the numbers recorded in the study due to abortion drugs. “This is probably an undercount because they’re not looking at abortions that happen outside of the formal health care system,” Dr. Anitra Beasley, an obstetrician-gynecologist and professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told NPR.
Maddow-Zimet also acknowledged to the paper that “increasing the availability of medical abortion via telemedicine” is “a big part of this story” because it is “much more available now” than in 2020.
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He added: “But we’ve also seen an increase in the proportion of abortions performed through medical abortions in physical facilities.”
According to another report by the Guttmacher Institute, there were approximately 642,700 medication abortions in the United States in 2023, accounting for 63% of all abortions in the official US health care system, up from 53% in 2020.
The Guttmacher Institute wrote that the new study ultimately shows that people “will continue to seek” abortions “despite the political obstacles imposed by anti-abortion policymakers.” It urged lawmakers to “pass strong laws that support people’s ability to access abortion care with dignity and respect.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education