Abortions have reached a 10-year high, despite bans on the procedure in more than a dozen states.
A report released Tuesday by a reproductive health company Guttmacher Institute showed that there were 1 million abortions in the United States in 2023, the equivalent of 16 per 1,000 women.
This is an increase of 10% from the 14.4 per 1,000 recorded in 2020 and the highest rate since 2014, when the rate was 14.6 per 1,000.
The rise is largely driven by medication abortions, which can be ordered at pharmacies online and soon in person, although they are illegal in more than a dozen states that have banned abortion.
These findings come after Vice President Kamala Harris made history as the first vice president or president to visit an abortion clinic last week – which was praised by pro-abortion activists but criticized by critics as a sign that she has “spent her entire career in the world”. pocket of the great abortion.
A report released Tuesday by reproductive health firm Guttmacher Institute shows there will be 1 million abortions in the United States in 2023, the equivalent of 16 per 1,000 women. This is an increase of 10% from the 14.4 per 1,000 recorded in 2020 and the highest rate since 2014, when the rate was 14.6 per 1,000.
Vice President Kamala Harris became the first vice president or president to visit an abortion clinic last week. She is pictured here at a Planned Parenthood in Minnesota
The percentage of medical abortions has climbed to nearly two-thirds, a 10% increase from 2020. In 2000, no abortions were performed by this method.
And that number is expected to rise even more in the coming years after mifepristone, an abortion pill, hit CVS and Walgreens store shelves for the first time this month.
Rachel Jones, Guttmacher’s senior researcher, said the overturning of Roe v Wade likely led to an increase in medication abortions.
“As restrictions on abortion increase after the Dobbs decision, medical abortion may be the most viable option – or the only option – for some people, even if they would have preferred in-person procedural care,” she declared.
The Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion, Roe v. Wade, in 2022, which had been in place for nearly five decades, leaving the choice up to each state.
Since then, Abortion has been completely banned in 14 states, while many others restrict access after a certain stage of pregnancy, as early as six weeks.
Yet the new report finds that almost every state saw an increase in the number of abortions performed between 2020 and 2023, which includes both in-office and medication abortions.
In New Mexico, for example, where abortion is entirely legal, the procedure has soared more than 250 percent in just three years, and states without total bans have seen a 25 percent increase, which could be due to the fact that people underwent this procedure early in their pregnancy. , before restrictions prohibited it.
Nearly two-thirds of abortions in 2023 were due to drugs like mifepristone
New Mexico has seen the largest increase in abortions, which may be due to its border with Arizona and Texas, which have restrictions.
The report’s authors wrote that “the drastic loss of access in the banned states was offset by monumental efforts by clinics, abortion funds, and logistical support organizations to help people in the banned states. access care through financial and practical support. »
The Guttmacher Institute publishes a similar report every three years, based on data collected from U.S. abortion providers.
The team found that just over 1 million abortions were performed in 2014. This is the first time since 2012 that the number has exceeded 1 million. This number increased from 0.92 million in 2020, the latest data available, a jump of 10%.
Nearly every state has seen an increase in abortions performed since 2020, although bordering states with restrictions have seen the largest increases.
For example, abortions in New Mexico have increased by 257% since 2020, even though the state borders Arizona, which restricts abortion after 15 weeks, and Texas, where the procedure is illegal.
Additionally, Kansas saw a 114 percent increase, which could be due to its border with Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas, where the procedure is completely banned.
Mifepristone is one of two drugs used to induce an abortion. Guttmacher researchers have found that nearly two-thirds of abortions are caused by drugs like this.
Guttmacher’s report found that abortion was more common in states bordering those with restrictions. The largest increases, for example, were seen in New Mexico,
The report also found that 63% of abortions performed in 2023 were due to medications, such as the two-pill regimen of mifepristone and misoprotol. As of 2000, no abortions were performed using this method.
However, access to medical abortion is also at stake.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments March 26 regarding President Joe Biden’s administration’s attempt to preserve broad access to mifepristone, part of the two-pill regimen that the FDA approved in 2000 to terminate early pregnancies.
This diet has also recently appeared on drugstore shelves, including major retailers like CVS and Walgreens.
The method involves two medications, taken over a day or two. The first, mifepristone, blocks progesterone, a hormone that promotes pregnancy. The second, misoprostol, induces uterine contractions.
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in August to reimpose restrictions on the delivery and distribution of mifepristone that the FDA had relaxed to make it easier to access during the COVID pandemic. -19.
This decision is suspended pending a decision from the Supreme Court.
The FDA maintains the drug is safe and effective, pointing to its decades of use by millions of American women with extremely rare side effects.
The report also comes after the first-ever over-the-counter birth control in the United States, Opill, became available online. It is expected to roll out to pharmacies later this month.
Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris visited a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as part of her campaign to defend abortion rights.
“Many of you have asked me why I am here in this particular establishment and I will tell you that it is because right now in our country we are facing a very serious health crisis, and this crisis affects so many people in our country, most of whom are frankly suffering in silence,” she said.
The anti-abortion organization SBA Pro-Life America criticized the vice president ahead of her visit, saying Harris had spent “her entire career in the pocket of Big Abortion.”