In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade, many “red” states enacted tough new abortion restrictions. Abortion rights advocates feared and pro-lifers hoped that this would result in a major decrease in the number of abortions in the US. Some also predicted that many people might “vote with their feet” against abortion bans by moving to pro-choice states.
So far, however, data suggests none of this has happened. As the New York Times reports, data compiled by the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute indicates that the number of abortions may even have increased since Dobbs. That’s largely because many women have gotten around state restrictions by traveling to more liberal states to get abortions:
Legal abortions most likely increased in the United States in the first six months of the year compared with 2020, an analysis of new estimates shows, as states with more permissive abortion laws absorbed patients traveling from those with bans and access to abortion pills via telemedicine continued to expand.
New research from the Guttmacher Institute offers…
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