Abortion Bans Do Not Reduce Abortion Rates in the United States, Data from 2024 Indicates
This piece first appeared in our weekly newsletter, The Fallout.
One thing about abortion providers is that they are astonishingly good at delivering care to patients, even in the most hostile climates.
That’s a truth born out in the latest Monthly Abortion Provision Study published by the Guttmacher Institute. Here are some of its highlights.
Out-of-state travel for abortion declined slightly in 2024 from 2023, according to Guttmacher’s study. These four states continue to be critical regional access points for out-of state patients as the abortion landscape has stabilized almost three years after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade and upended federal right to abortion. These four states remain critical regional access points for out-of-state patients as the abortion access landscape steadied almost three years after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade and upended the federal right to abortion.
Guttmacher said in a press release that the latest study shows that a state’s abortion ban extends far beyond its borders.
“For instance, the substantial increase in out-of-state abortion patients in Virginia can likely be attributed to Florida’s six-week ban that went into effect in May 2024,” Kimya Forouzan, Guttmacher Institute principal state policy advisor, said in a press release. Virginia, despite being hundreds of kilometers away, is the second closest state to Florida for residents seeking an abortion after 6 weeks’ gestation. It also has the shortest waiting period. This patchwork approach has only increased inequity of abortion access in the United States.” The Guttmacher report says that while the overall increase in abortions may be nominal from 2023, online-only clinics played a greater role. They provided 14 percent of abortions in states without total bans in 2024. This is up from 10 percent. The Guttmacher Institute’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study, led by Isaac Maddow Zimet, data scientist, and Guttmacher Institute project leader, stated in a release that while these data do not capture the difficulties that many abortion seekers experienced or those who could not access care, they do highlight the dedication and determination of abortion patients and providers, advocates, and support groups. The TL;DR is that abortion bans do not prevent abortions. They only increase the cost, risk and complexity of getting care. It’s not surprising that conservatives are focusing on strategies that target online-only clinics and the abortion pills that they provide.
