The abortion rate decreased by 100 percent in 13 states in the U.S. between April 2022 and June 2023. In June of 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned its ruling on Roe v. Wade, the case that protected the right to terminate a pregnancy.聽
Roe v. Wade
In June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling that overturned the 1973 case, Roe v. Wade. Since then, 12 states have completely banned abortion, while other state鈥檚 place time limits on abortion. The new ruling 鈥 outlined in Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health Organization 鈥 was an extremely divisive decision and caused considerable controversy and backlash. More than half of the American population considers themselves to be 鈥減ro-choice,鈥 and even religiously affiliated Americans generally do not think that abortion should be illegal in all cases.
While the Roe v. Wade ruling did not make abortion outright illegal, it did hand back the power to make decisions regarding abortion rights back to state legislatures. The ruling has placed millions of women at risk, and healthcare providers in legal limbo as to what kinds of procedures they are permitted to perform.
Changes in the abortion rate
The United States has seen a gradual decline in its abortion rate over the last decades. In the months following the Supreme Court decision, the abortion rate in each state has changed in different ways. States friendly to abortion that border states with more restrictive abortion policies have seen the most dramatic increases in performed abortions. Kansas, for example, saw a 72.2 percent increase in abortions after the nearby states of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas increased restrictions. A similar story has played out in North Carolina, where abortions increased by 44.6 percent. In this case, the nearby states of South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee became less friendly to abortion.聽
While the possibility to travel to a neighboring state to receive care is not illegal, it can be markedly expensive. This means that ultimately, people with lower incomes will have a disproportionately difficult time accessing abortion care.