Despite predictions to the contrary, the number of abortions in the US did not decrease but rather increased after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision. In 2023, over a million abortions were recorded, marking the highest numbers in a decade according to the Guttmacher Institute. Preliminary data also shows that abortion rates have remained stable in the early months of 2024.
Contrary to many predictions, abortions did not decline nationally after the Supreme Court 's Dobbs decision. Here's what's behind the trend.
That was only possible because of significant action taken by the Food and Drug Administration during the Covid pandemic, which allowed the pills to be dispensed via telemedicine. Then, in the wake of the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, eight states passed laws that protected providers from being sued for prescribing abortion pills virtually to people from other states.
When asked about that possibility, Karoline Leavitt, a Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman, told NBC News that “President Trump has long been consistent in supporting the rights of states to make decisions on abortion.”“We were under no illusions that Dobbs was going to solve the problem,” said Randall O’Bannon, director of education and research for National Right to Life, an organization that opposes abortion.
Then came the biggest change: In 2021, the FDA eliminated the requirement to dispense mifepristone in person. “Aid Access created and provided a model for other providers to replicate — not just replicate, but to expand upon,” said Dr. Remy Coeytaux, a representative for A Safe Choice. Nationally, more than 171,000 people crossed state lines to obtain an abortion in 2023 — roughly double the number in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Illinois has seen more out-of-state abortions than any other state, a 71% increase from 2020 to 2023.
“It was just stressful,” she said. “It was a lot of thinking, a lot of anxiety … Maybe I shouldn’t do this. Maybe I should just carry to term, because it just feels like there’s so many obstacles.” “One of the positive consequences of the horrific decision overturning Roe, was that people became more aware of their rights, even as these rights were taken away,” said Julie Kay, executive director of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine Access.
Data isn’t available on how many unwanted pregnancies have been carried to term since the Dobbs decision, but an April study found that “My expectation would be that his FDA would re-evaluate the Biden FDA’s decision to authorize mail-order abortion and determine that it was unlawful and dangerous to do so,” said Erik Baptist, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-abortion legal group.
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