Post-Roe Abortion Rates in Banned States Remain Steady

Women in states with abortion bans had the procedure at rates similar to those before the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The report from the Society of Family Planning, titled #WeCount, revealed that women are navigating the restrictions by traveling out of state or receiving prescription abortion pills by mail, with a growing reliance on telehealth services.

Ushma Upadhyay, a public health social scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, and co-chair of the #WeCount survey, said: “The abortion bans are not eliminating the need for abortion. People are jumping over these hurdles because they have to.”

The #WeCount report began surveying abortion providers monthly just before the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, which ended the national right to abortion and facilitated state-level bans.

The data indicates significant shifts since that decision. While the number of abortions in states with complete bans has dropped dramatically, the overall national total has remained stable or even increased.

In the first half of 2024, the study estimates that approximately 99,000 abortions occurred each month, up from 81,000 monthly between April and December 2022 and 88,000 in 2023.

Telehealth has played a crucial role in this dynamic; in April 2022, only about 1 in 25 abortions were conducted via telehealth prescriptions, whereas that number has since risen to 1 in 5.

For the first time, the #WeCount report has detailed state-by-state numbers for abortion pill prescriptions. It found that approximately half of these telehealth prescriptions were going to women in states with abortion bans or restrictions.

For example, in Texas, around 2,800 women received abortion pills each month in the latter half of 2023, with significant numbers also in Mississippi and Missouri.

Despite the availability of telehealth, travel remains the primary means of access for women in states with bans.

According to data from the Guttmacher Institute, women in these states still heavily rely on traveling to obtain abortions.

When comparing the two surveys with Guttmacher’s counts from 2020, #WeCount found that women in states with bans were obtaining abortions at similar rates to those prior to the Supreme Court’s decision.

For instance, West Virginia women procured nearly 220 abortions monthly in the latter half of 2023, primarily through travel—an increase from around 140 a month in 2020.

Louisiana’s numbers remained relatively stable, with just under 700 abortions monthly during the same period, compared to 635 in 2020.

However, Oklahoma saw a decline, with numbers falling from approximately 690 in 2020 to fewer than 470 in 2023.

One of the key providers of telehealth services is the Massachusetts Abortion Access Project.

Cofounder Angel Foster noted that the group prescribed to around 500 patients a month after launching in September 2023, mainly in states with bans.

Initially charging $250 per person, the organization is now implementing a model with a suggested price of $5, allowing patients to pay more if they can afford it. Foster anticipates providing 1,500 to 2,000 abortions monthly under this new structure.

While there have been no significant legal challenges to shield laws so far, abortion opponents have sought to restrict access to mifepristone, a key abortion pill.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court upheld access to the drug, determining that a group of anti-abortion doctors lacked the legal standing to challenge its federal approval.

This month, three states have requested judicial permission to pursue a lawsuit aimed at reversing federal decisions that facilitated easier access to the pill, including through telehealth.

This article contains additional reporting from The Associated Press