Abortions in the U.S. HAVE INCREASED since the overturning of Roe v. Wade

10/31/2023 / By Laura Harris

The total number of legal abortions in the United States has increased by approximately 0.2 percent, contrary to expectations after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

According to the nationwide first-full-year count of abortions, the increase in legal abortions happened in states where they remained accessible, likely caused by residents and by women traveling from states with bans or restrictions.

Meanwhile, these same states where abortions remain relatively unrestricted expanded the services they are providing for women seeking abortions, including telemedicine options for mail-order abortion pills, increased support and options for women who need to travel to get an abortion and increased awareness campaigns about avenues to access abortion.

Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed the mailing of abortion pills without an in-person visit, which led to increased accessibility and lower costs. With that, primary care providers and retail pharmacies also started providing abortion pills. (Related: Abortion activists launch airborne ‘abortion drone’ to air-drop abortion pills to citizens.)

As a result of these expansions, WeCount, an organization that keeps track of the number of abortions performed in the U.S., reported that there were 82,297 abortions each month since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a slight increase from the 82,115 monthly abortions performed in the two months preceding its overturning. The Guttmacher Institute, which uses a smaller sample size of providers and a shorter time frame, came to a similar conclusion regarding the slight increase in abortion rates.

States near other states with bans have seen massive increases in monthly abortions, with 61 percent for New Mexico, 33 percent for Illinois and 28 percent for Florida.

Additionally, abortion rates increased in states that did not border states with total bans, such as California and New York.

Abortion ban should go hand in hand with pregnancy care

John Seago, the president of Texas Right to Life, was not surprised by the continued demand for abortions. He believes that to reduce the number of abortions, lawmakers should focus on enforcing bans while also providing support for pregnant women.

“For us, it’s such a straightforward ethical issue to cause the death of another human being that it’s not a question of whether we need to prohibit it or not,” he said. “Now we are into what is effective.”

According to a report released by the nonpartisan and nonprofit National Partnership for Women and Families in 2022, states that have enacted abortion restrictions also have “systemic” barriers that impede the health and economic security of pregnant and birthing women.

For instance, most states that implemented abortion bans have failed to adopt Medicaid expansion, leaving 2.2 million adults uninsured. Medicaid coverage should also extend beyond 60 days after birth, as 33 percent of pregnancy-related deaths happen during the postpartum period. Moreover, states with abortion bans should also include paid parental, family and medical leave, as well as workplace protections like fair scheduling and pregnancy accommodations.

This lack of pregnancy support in the U.S. primarily affects Latina, Black and immigrant workers who usually belong to marginalized communities, such as those living in poverty, teenagers, immigrants or those with demanding jobs that don’t allow for time off.

In other words, the states that implement the abortion ban should keep in mind that this ban should go hand in hand with pregnancy care.

Learn more about the legality and impact of abortions in the U.S. at Abortions.news.

Watch the video below that talks about abortionists seeking to break state laws internationally.

This video is from the channel The New American on Brighteon.com.