In 2022, the number of abortions performed in the United States saw a slight decline of 2% despite the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A total of 613,383 abortions were reported by providers in 48 states, compared to 622,108 in 2021, the year the landmark decision was overturned. The report highlights that while abortion numbers fell overall in 2022, the rate of abortions began to rise in 2023, even in the face of stricter state-level bans.
The CDC data, which excludes some states including California, New Jersey, Maryland, and New Hampshire, shows that the majority of abortions in 2022 were performed early in pregnancy. Nearly 94% of the abortions occurred at or before nine weeks of gestation, with 6% performed between 14 and 20 weeks, and about 1% at or after 21 weeks.
Women in their 20s accounted for the largest group of abortion patients, with unmarried women making up nearly 88% of the total procedures. Racially, Black women accounted for the highest percentage at 39.5%, followed by White women at 31.9%. Nearly 60% of women seeking abortions in 2022 had previously given birth, and 44% had had at least one prior abortion.
While the CDC’s report provides a snapshot of abortion trends in 2022, other groups, such as the Guttmacher Institute, have also reported data for 2023. Their findings suggest that abortion rates increased in the wake of the Roe v. Wade decision, reaching the highest number in more than a decade at 1,037,000 abortions.
The report from the CDC does not include data from some states or consider abortions performed by unlicensed providers or outside the healthcare system. Meanwhile, the Guttmacher Institute’s research does incorporate more comprehensive data from the states not covered by the CDC.
The Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 shifted the decision-making power over abortion laws to individual states. Since then, 21 states have imposed restrictions or bans on abortion. As a result, many women in those states have been forced to travel to nearby states where abortion is still legal, contributing to an increase in the number of procedures performed in states that continue to allow abortion access.
In the aftermath of the Roe v. Wade decision, many women in states with stringent abortion laws have shared harrowing accounts of their medical experiences. Amber Thurman, a 28-year-old woman from Georgia, died after complications from abortion pills when the state’s six-week ban prevented her from obtaining a surgical abortion. Additionally, women in Texas have reported being denied necessary treatment for ectopic pregnancies due to doctors fearing legal repercussions from the state’s strict abortion laws. Such delays in care led to irreversible health consequences, including the loss of fallopian tubes.
In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, these personal stories highlight the potential dangers and health risks posed by restrictive abortion laws. With the ongoing debate surrounding abortion access in the U.S., these statistics and individual accounts underscore the complex and far-reaching impacts of the legal changes that followed Roe‘s overturn.
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