Legal Abortions Fell 6% in Two Months after Roe Overturned

Abortion was banned in 13 states and heavily restricted in nine other states in the two months following the US Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey on June 24, 2022, allowing states to set their own abortion laws.

As a result, in the two months following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, legal abortions dropped about 6% (or by about 10,000 procedures), according to the Society of Family Planning, a pro legal abortion organization.

The 13 states with bans saw legal abortions drop to almost zero, while in the states with restrictions legal abortions fell about 30%. Texas saw the largest decrease, with 5,470 fewer abortions, followed by Georgia with 2,700 fewer. 

In contrast, in the states where abortion remained legal, abortions increased about 11%, suggesting that about half of the people living in restrictive states seeking abortions traveled to a less restrictive state, according to the researchers. Illinois saw the largest increase in abortions at 2,660 additional procedures, followed by North Carolina with 1,870 more, likely due to bordering states with bans or strict restrictions.

Discussion Questions

1. Should abortion be legalized by the federal government? Why or why not?

2. Should states legalize abortion? Why or why not?

3. If abortion is legalized (or remains legal), should any restrictions be imposed? If yes, what restrictions and why? If no, why not?

Sources

Margot Sanger-Katz and Claire Cain Miller, “Legal Abortions Fell around 6 Percent in Two Months after End of Roe,” nytimes.com, Oct. 30, 2022

Society of Family Planning, “#WeCount Report,” societyfp.org, Oct. 28, 2022