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A group that supports legal abortion has found that abortions in the U.S. dropped by about 6% in the first two months since the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The news, reported by the New York Times, encouraged some pro-life groups.
“We are celebrating the fact that at least 10,000 babies have a chance at life,” said Kristin Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America. “It’s a sign of course correction and of ordinary Americans finally having a say in how many lives are tragically lost to the tragedy of abortion.”
But while states’ new ability to ban abortions led to zero instances of the procedure in some jurisdictions, abortions rose in others – in some cases dramatically.
Abortion bans
Thirteen states enacted bans on abortion since the June 24 Dobbs v. Jackson decision.
The group conducting the study, WeCount, which is led by the Society of Family Planning, a group that supports abortion rights, described their work as "detailed estimates," the Times said.
“In states with bans and restrictions, there were about 22,000 fewer abortions in July and August, compared with the baseline of April, before the decision,” the Times reported. “In states where abortion remained legal, the number of abortions increased by roughly 12,000, or 11%.”
The study found no abortions in July and August in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.
Other states, however, saw dramatic increases, possibly, in part, because women from states where abortion was now banned traveled there for abortions. Illinois saw an increase of 2,660 abortions between April, when the Dobbs decision was leaked to the press, and August. New York State saw an increase over the same time span of 1,500 abortions.
Overall, there were about 85,000 abortions nationwide in April, according to the study, and 79,600 in August.
