Abortions have increased post-Roe's overturn

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Since then, 14 states have enacted near-total abortion bans with limited exceptions, including the patient's life being at risk, rape, incest, or fetal anomalies. An additional four states have banned abortion after around six weeks of pregnancy.

As part of its #WeCount project, the Society of Family Planning has tracked monthly abortion utilization, both nationally and by state, since April 2022. The current report is the seventh in a series and includes information on both in-person and telehealth abortions provided by clinicians.

According to the report, the number of abortions in states with total bans fell to almost zero while they declined by about half in states that ban abortion after six weeks. At the same time, the number of abortions in states where it remains legal saw significant increases.

In 2024, abortion volume was higher than it was in 2023 or 2022. In January, the total monthly number of abortions nationwide exceeded 100,000 for the first time since #WeCount began its tracking. Between January and March 2024, there were 94,670 to 102,350 abortions, with a monthly average of 98,990.

During that time, the states with the largest average number of abortions per month were California, New York, Illinois, Florida, and New Jersey. However, since then, Florida has instated a six-week abortion ban, which went into effect in May.

According to the report, the increase in total abortions nationwide may be driven in part by telehealth abortions. The monthly number of telehealth abortions increased by 28% from January through March of 2023 to January through March of 2024. In the first quarter of 2024, telehealth abortions made up 20% of all abortions, which equals around 19,700 abortions per month.

"Telehealth abortion is making a critical difference for people seeking abortion care in this increasingly restrictive environment," said Ushma Upadhyay, co-chair of #WeCount and a professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

"Telehealth also eases the surges and cuts down on wait times at abortion clinics providing in-person abortion care, which continues to be a critical route to abortion access, accounting for 80% of all abortions," Upadhyay added.

Abortion is increasingly becoming part of state ballots

Since 2022, abortion rights supporters have been successful in seven abortion ballot questions. According to a recent Associated Press-NORC poll, this aligns with public opinion polling that shows growing support for abortion rights. In the poll, six in 10 Americans said they believe their state should allow someone to obtain a legal abortion if they don't want to be pregnant for any reason.

Currently, six states, including Florida, have abortion-related measures on their ballots. Four more states, including Nebraska, are currently determining which abortion-related questions will be allowed on the ballot.

These ballot measures have seemingly encouraged people on both sides of the abortion issue.

For example, Mia Adkins, a 20-year-old senior at Florida International University, said the overturning of Roe and changes to Florida's laws have strengthened her belief that there should be abortion limits. "Instead of pushing for more abortion legal later in pregnancy, we should be pushing for laws that protect these pregnant parents and students and provide them with the support that they need," Adkins said.

On the other hand, Natalie Harper, a 23-year-old independent who doesn't usually vote, said the potential of Arizona bringing back a Civil War-era abortion ban "absolutely" impacts her decision to vote and support a ballot measure that would expand abortion limits to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

"Seeing that as a possibility really made me realize that everyone's pro-choice voices need to be heard in hopes it never goes in that direction again," Harper said.

Advisory Board's women's health resources

For more insights into women's health issues, including maternity care, check out Advisory Board's library of resources:

We have several resources on the top drivers of change in the maternal and reproductive health market, as well as the outlook for the women's health service line.

To learn more about ways to improve women's health in the United States, this report outlines six key factors to take into consideration, including the roles of various healthcare stakeholders and the importance of cross-industry collaboration.

Advisory Board also has several resources on how to utilize technology in maternity care, including this cheat sheet on telehealth and maternity care, as well as a case study on how digital solutions can improve access to maternity care.

For resources specifically related to abortion, we offer this infographic explaining the potential health outcomes for individuals denied abortions in their state, as well as an expert insight on the groups that are disproportionately impacted by abortion restrictions. This expert insight also explains how leaders can help their clinical workforce amid changing abortion laws. (Habeshian, Axios, 8/7; Mulvihill/Kruesi, Associated Press/TIME, 8/7; Society of Family Planning report, accessed 8/8)