Abortions Since Roe: A Startling Number

Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, which ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protected a right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many abortion laws and caused an ongoing abortion debate in the United States.

In the 49 years following Roe v. Wade, states, healthcare providers, and citizens fought over what limits the government could place on abortion access, particularly during the second and third trimesters. However, abortion was fundamentally legal in all 50 states during that period.

In 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case, ending the constitutional right to abortion.

The number of abortions in the US has decreased since Roe v. Wade

Since then, the number of abortions has generally decreased. According to the CDC, the number of abortions in 2021 was 36% lower than in 1991. Similarly, the Guttmacher Institute found that the number of abortions in 2020 was 40% lower than in 1991.

However, this long-term trend of decline has been interrupted by occasional breaks. For example, the CDC reported modest increases in abortions in 2018 and 2019, followed by a 2% decrease in 2020 and a 5% increase in 2021.

The abortion rate among women in the US has also generally been declining since 1981, when the Guttmacher Institute reported there were 29.3 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44. In 2020, the rate was 14.4 abortions per 1,000 women in this age group. The CDC reported a similar trend, with the abortion rate per 1,000 women aged 15-44 falling from 25 in 1980 to 11.6 in 2021.

Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade, a landmark 1973 decision that had guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. The 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ended the constitutional right to abortion, with the majority opinion stating that abortion was not a legitimate unenumerated right as it was not "deeply rooted in the Nation's history and tradition".

The decision sparked protests across the country, with people gathering in front of the Georgia State Capital in Atlanta to demonstrate against the Supreme Court's ruling. The ruling has had a significant impact on abortion access across the country, with abortion now banned at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions, in 14 Republican-controlled states. In three other states, abortion is barred after approximately the first six weeks, which is often before many people know they are pregnant.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade has also had a notable impact on politics, with abortion becoming a key issue in the 2024 presidential election. The ruling has also led to a push for ballot measures in several states, with Colorado, Florida, Maryland, and South Dakota putting forward measures to protect or expand access to abortion.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade has had far-reaching consequences, reshaping the landscape of abortion access and making it more of a logistical and financial challenge for many people in conservative states.

The number of women prosecuted for pregnancy-related reasons increased after Roe v. Wade was overturned

In the year after Roe v. Wade was overturned, at least 200 people in the US were prosecuted for conduct relating to their pregnancies – the highest number of cases in a single year ever recorded. According to a report by the advocacy group Pregnancy Justice, at least 210 women faced criminal charges related to pregnancy, abortion, pregnancy loss, or birth in the year after the Supreme Court ended the federal right to abortion. This represented the highest number of pregnancy-related criminalizations in US history.

The report found that most of the cases involved allegations of substance use during pregnancy, with 86 instances concerning the use of marijuana. Five cases involved allegations of researching, mentioning, or attempting to get an abortion. Nearly half of the prosecutions took place in Alabama, where abortion is almost completely banned. Oklahoma, with 68 prosecutions, and South Carolina, with 10, had the second and third-highest number of cases.

The sharp rise in prosecutions is directly tied to the legal doctrine of 'fetal personhood', which grants legal rights to an embryo or fetus and turns them into victims of crimes perpetrated by pregnant women. This has led to the criminalization of behaviour that may not be dangerous, such as substance use during pregnancy.

The report's authors caution that the figure of 210 is likely an undercount, as they continue to uncover additional cases. They plan to release a more comprehensive report covering the three-year period following the Supreme Court's decision.

The number of abortions in the US will probably continue to decrease

The number of abortions in the US has been steadily decreasing since the 1980s, and this trend will likely continue for several reasons. Firstly, increased access to birth control has been statistically linked to reductions in the abortion rate. Secondly, the use of long-acting methods of contraception (LARC) has increased, with LARC methods being used by a small minority of all women. Thirdly, the number of abortions has decreased among women aged 15-19 years, with abortion rates in this age group dropping by almost half between 2008 and 2014. Finally, the number of abortions is expected to decrease further as a result of state-level restrictions on abortion access, such as gestational age limits and parental notification requirements.

The states with the highest abortion rates in 2021 were Illinois, Florida, and Georgia

In 2021, the states with the highest abortion rates in the United States were Illinois, Florida, and Georgia. The abortion rate is calculated as the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years. In Illinois, the abortion rate was 21.8, while in Florida and Georgia, it was 20.3 and 19.8, respectively. The abortion rate in the District of Columbia was the highest at 34.4, but it is not a state.

The abortion rate in the US has been continuously declining since the 1980s, when it peaked at 30 per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15-44). In 2018, the abortion rate was 11.3, and by 2023, medication abortions accounted for 63% of all abortions.

The abortion debate in the US is often framed as a debate between the "pro-choice" and "pro-life" labels, but most Americans agree with some positions of each side. While a majority of Americans support access to abortion, public opinion is divided, and abortion laws vary widely from state to state.

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