Total abortions decreased by 6% in the U.S. after Roe v. Wade was overturned

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 31, 2022 / 16:15 pm

More than 10,000 unborn babies are alive today because of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a new report by a pro-abortion group suggests.

Society of Family Planning’s #WeCount initiative reported Friday that there were 5,270 fewer abortions in July and 5,400 fewer in August after the court’s June 24 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe and freed individual states to decide abortion policy.  

As the New York Times pointed out in an article on the #WeCount study, abortions declined almost to zero in states with bans, but they increased in many states where abortion remained legal. In August, fewer than 10 abortions were performed in each of the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. #WeCount also identified some of the states with the largest increases in abortion as North Carolina (37%), Kansas (36%), Colorado (33%), and Illinois (28%).

In the two months after Dobbs, the number of women getting abortions decreased by 10,670, or 6%, the group reported. If those numbers were to continue, FiveThirtyEight pointed out, more than 60,000 lives could be saved from abortion in one year alone.

Pro-life research organizations applauded the finding.

“The results from the #WeCount project confirm that pro-life laws save lives,” Chuck Donovan, president of Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of SBA Pro-Life America, told CNA. “There is nothing like the birth of a new baby, and these laws will translate into that miracle thousands of times over.”

He stressed that certain states are supporting life-affirming alternatives to abortion. 

“The abortion industry has only one message for women: you can’t do it. We’re now replacing that with something better: you can do it, and we will be there to support you,” he continued. “Already pro-life states have stepped up to support women and families — Texas alone has budgeted over $100 million to give women real options.”

For the study, #WeCount relied on a mixture of reporting and estimates. The group said it developed a database of all U.S. clinics, private medical offices, hospitals, and virtual-only abortion providers. Of all identified providers, 79% agreed to participate, making up an estimated 82% of all abortions provided in the country.

#WeCount looked at and compared data from April to August 2022. It found that the estimated number of abortions provided by a clinician decreased from 85,020 abortions in April to 79,620 in August. It also reported that the national abortion rate decreased from 14 per 1,000 women of reproductive age in April to 13 per 1,000 in August. 

The group noted that abortions by virtual-only clinics increased from 2,830 in April to 3,780 in August. Those numbers represent an increase of 33% in the number of abortions by virtual-only services, the group said.

As noted above, abortions largely decreased in states that restricted abortion. The group, when comparing April and August, noted a 95% decrease in the number of abortions in states where abortion was banned or severely restricted. It found a 32% decrease in the number of abortions in states where abortion was restricted. At the same time, the group recorded an increase of 11% in the number of abortions in states where abortion was legal.

“Overall, the monthly number of abortions declined from April 2022 to August 2022, signaling that many thousands of pregnant people living in states where abortion is banned and restricted were unable to travel for abortion care,” the group’s release reads.

The study listed several limitations, including not being able to count “self-managed” abortions, or abortions performed outside of the formal health care system.

Planned Parenthood, which helped with the #WeCount report, did not respond with comment by time of publication.