Monthly Abortions on the Rise Despite New Restrictions: Report

The average number of monthly abortions in the United States continues to trend upward despite the recent tightening of restrictions on the procedure in several states, a new report shows.

That figure marks a nearly 14 percent increase over the 2023 average from that same period.

The #WeCount project aims to measure the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned the federal right to obtain an abortion and sent the issue back to the states.

Fourteen states have banned the procedure, with limited exceptions, since the ruling: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. Twenty-seven other states restrict abortion at various stages of pregnancy.

Despite those laws, the national monthly abortion total exceeded 100,000 in January—a first since the #WeCount project began just under two years ago.

Related Stories

The report attributes the uptick to an increase in telehealth abortions—performed at home via drugs—for which the monthly average soared 28 percent year over year to 19,700, or roughly 20 percent of all abortions. In-person abortions, on the other hand, decreased slightly by 1 percent.

“Telehealth abortion is making a critical difference for people seeking abortion care in this increasingly restrictive environment,” said Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, #WeCount co-chair and professor at the University of California San Francisco, where she’s a member of the core faculty for the university’s Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health program.

States that had the greatest decline in overall abortion volume since the Dobbs decision include Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama—all states with near-total abortion bans, save Georgia. Georgia bars the procedure after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which usually occurs at about six weeks’ gestation.

States with the largest monthly volume of abortions included California, New York, Illinois, Florida, and New Jersey, though totals in Florida are expected to decline now that the state’s six-week abortion limit is in effect.

“While the volume of abortions has increased, we know that this isn’t the full story,” said Dr. Alison Norris, #WeCount co-chair and professor at Ohio State University’s College of Public Health.

“Even as we see the increase in abortion volume nationally, the burden on an individual living in a state with an abortion ban is enormous, especially if they need in-person abortion care.”

Unverifiable Data

Abortion data is notoriously difficult to collect in the United States as there is no federal reporting requirement. #WeCount sourced about 82 percent of its data set directly from abortion providers and state health departments. The remaining 18 percent was estimated based on available information.

The report does not include any data for self-induced abortions attempted outside of the formal health care system.

“What’s ironic about a report from #WeCount is that we can’t verify [the data],” said Kristi Hamrick, vice president of media and policy for pro-life group Students for Life of America, in written comments to The Epoch Times.

Hamrick said that even in states where abortion data is routinely collected and reported, “pro-abortion forces try to shut that down.”

She said Minnesota last year repealed the state’s Born Alive Infant Protection Act, eliminating reporting requirements for abortions that result in live births. Hamrick said state health department data show that doctors took no measures to preserve the lives of at least eight babies who survived abortions in the state between January 2019 and December 2021.

Adding that she hoped the #WeCount data was incorrect, Hamrick said the United States needs to “protect life in law and in service—not because of a report that may be false, but because it’s true that human lives have worth.”