(NewsGlobal.com)- The number of abortions in the United States has decreased by thousands since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in June, which effectively overturned Roe v. Wade.
According to a report prepared by FiveThirtyEight, in the two months following the Supreme Court’s decision, there were reportedly 10,570 fewer abortions nationwide than was anticipated in light of the Dobbs decision,
But the number of women traveling across state boundaries has significantly increased since June. The state’s trigger law forbidding abortion went into effect in Alabama on June 24, the same day the Court’s Dobbs decision was announced. Georgia’s phones started ringing early the following day.
According to Kwajelyn Jackson, executive director of the Feminist Women’s Health Center in Atlanta, she had approximately 100 calls the day following the Dobbs ruling from patients in Alabama.
The calls indicated a trend where women are traveling outside of their areas where abortion is no longer permitted to obtain an abortion.
According to data compiled on legal abortions from #WeCount, a national research project led by the Society of Family Planning, since the Dobbs decision over the summer, the estimated number of abortions in states that banned or severely restricted access is believed to have decreased by about 22,020. However, FiveThirtyEight notes that some of those women appear to have traveled outside of their states because the number of abortions increased by an aggregate of nearly 12,000 in other states.
According to reports, the migration of abortions from states with bans and restrictions to those with fewer access restrictions did not cover the shortage nationally. The number of abortions decreased by 6% between April and August. It is possible that hundreds of women sought abortions illegally or didn’t obtain any. If these patterns continue, the Dobbs ruling may prevent at least 60,000 abortions in the upcoming year.
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