A new report reveals the reality of the United States post-Dobbs: abortion deserts, especially concentrated in the southeast, forcing women to flee to nearby states that provide care.
“The Monthly Abortion Provision Study shows that many states that are in close proximity to states that banned abortion saw much sharper increases in monthly abortion numbers than would likely be explained by a continuation of earlier trends,” read the report from the Guttmacher Institute, considered the gold standard in abortion research. “Much of the increase is likely attributable to out-of-state patients who were forced to travel for abortion care, reflecting the reality that states that ban abortion are neglecting the health care needs of their residents.”
The researchers compared the data with that from 2020, the year of their last annual provider survey, when abortions were starting to tick up mostly without the burden of comprehensive gestational bans (though also amid a global pandemic). The report is based on a survey of clinics and providers, and uses a statistical model to create abortion estimates from that data plus historical data on the caseload of every provider in the country.
The overall uptick in abortions so far in 2023 likely reflects the reaction of blue states to abortion bans, along with their proximity to states under restrictive regimes. Abortions in Colorado, Illinois, Washington and New Mexico have risen significantly — all places where Democratic-led state governments have expanded access to abortion and bolstered accompanying protections.
But in a state like Texas, where abortion is now virtually illegal, there were just 14 reported abortions in the first three months of 2023 compared with a monthly average of 4,800 abortions in 2020, per the report. It highlights the huge numbers of women who have been displaced, forced to travel vast geographic distances to clinics often already overwhelmed with increased need.
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As the report points out, the overall uptick in abortions doesn’t reflect improving conditions for women’s health care. Some women have been forced to carry unwanted or unviable pregnancies to term. Abortion bans inevitably hurt the most vulnerable women — young women, women of color, LGBTQ women, hourly workers, women who can’t easily take time off work and pay for travel, lodging and meals — the most.
“These findings indicate that all aspects of the abortion infrastructure — including facilities, funds and support networks — require sustained support to serve increased patient caseloads,” the report read.
The report does not speak to “self-managed abortions,” where women obtain abortion drugs — usually misoprostol and mifepristone — outside the formal health care system.
You can read the report here. One statistic of interest for you:
A small number of people in ban states may have been able to access abortion care under the limited exceptions; for example, there were 14 abortions reported in Texas the first three months of 2023, compared with an average of more than 4,800 per month in 2020. Such exceptions leave most pregnant people unable to get the abortion they need, and some people have been forced to carry their pregnancy to term.
Sobering stuff. The report also mentions the threats to interstate travel and the shifting landscape as some other states manage to pass new abortion restrictions. Read it and see for yourself. Axios and Yahoo News have more.