The number of women seeking abortions in the United States rose in the first three months of 2024 compared with the period before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to a report released Wednesday, reflecting the lengths to which some Democratic-governed states have gone to expand access to the procedure.
A major reason for the increase in some Democratic-governed states was laws enacted to protect doctors who use telemedicine to care for patients in places where abortion bans exist, according to the #WeCount quarterly report for the Society of Family Planning, a nonprofit that advocates for abortion access.
The survey covers the first three months of this year, when it counted an average of just under 99,000 abortions a month, compared with 84,000 in the two months before the Dobbs ruling. January was the first time since the survey began that more than 100,000 abortions were counted nationwide in a single month.
The news comes ahead of the November presidential election, in which abortion rights advocates hope the issue will motivate some voters to go to the polls. In some places, voters will have the opportunity to enshrine or reject abortion protections at the state level.
The fallout from the Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has redefined the way abortion works across the country. #WeCount data, collected in a monthly survey since April 2022, shows that those providing and seeking abortions have adapted to the changing laws.
The survey found that the number of abortions fell to nearly zero in states that ban the procedure at all stages of pregnancy and dropped by about half in places that ban it after six weeks of pregnancy — before many women even know they are expecting a baby. Fourteen states have imposed restrictions on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions, and another four ban it after about six weeks of pregnancy.
Abortion rates rose in places where the procedure remains legal until later in pregnancy, particularly in states like Illinois, Kansas and New Mexico, which border states with bans.
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