Recent research indicates that the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, which shifted abortion regulations back to individual states, has not resulted in a decrease in the number of abortions.
A report from the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, reveals that in 2023, there were over one million abortions, marking the highest rate in more than ten years and a 10 percent increase from 2020.
The report highlights:
Increases in the number of abortions were close to universal—almost every state without a total ban saw an increase in the number of abortions provided, as compared to 2020.
The 10% increase at the national level in many ways understates the degree to which health systems, providers and support networks have had to scale up care. This is because it does not speak to the large shifts in where people are able to obtain abortions: states without total bans experienced a 25% increase in abortions provided in 2023, as compared to 2020.
Many Republican-led states have restricted access to abortion services, prompting numerous women to travel out of state to undergo the procedure.
According to Guttmacher, the rise in abortions to increased efforts by abortion rights supporters to ensure