North Carolina and South Carolina saw a dramatic decrease in abortions after the states passed pro-life laws, according to the pro-abortion group Guttmacher Institute.
Nearly half of the states in the U.S. have pro-life laws restricting abortion after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, leading many women to travel out of state to receive an abortion. A recent report from the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion group, found that neighboring states North and South Carolina saw a sharp decrease in abortions since the states passed pro-life laws. (RELATED: Swing State Court Issues Pivotal Ruling On Future Of Abortion)
South Carolina passed a six-week ban in May that was upheld by the state’s Supreme Court in August. As a result, South Carolina went from 750 abortions in August to 160 in September, a 79% decrease.
North Carolina similarly passed its own bill in May that restricts abortions after 12 weeks and that went into effect July 1. The state’s number of abortions dropped over 30% before increasing slightly in September by about 600, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which claimed that it was likely due to women traveling out of state in response to South Carolina’s ban.
Abortion rights activists demonstrate in support of women’s rights on July 16, 2022, in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by RINGO CHIU / AFP) (Photo by RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images)
Over 92,000 women went out of state for an abortion within the first six months of 2023, while only 40,600 women left their home state in 2020 for the procedure, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The institute found that one in five women traveled out of state from January to June 2023, while only one out of 10 traveled during the entire year of 2020. States with the highest increases were Florida, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico and North Carolina.
Florida, which passed a heartbeat bill in April, had 5,780 patients who traveled out of state for abortions for the first half of the year, according to the Guttmacher Institute. In 2020, the state only had 3,700 that went to another state for the procedure.
Many companies, including Apple, Amazon, Target and Disney have elected to make it easier for employees to travel to get abortions in the wake of the Dobbs decision by paying for travel costs, according to Forbes. The Pentagon also announced in February that it would reimburse female service members for traveling out of state for an abortion.
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama held up the promotion of over 400 military members for months, demanding that the administration reverse the policy. Tuberville said Tuesday, however, that he would be lifting his blockade for everyone except 4-star generals and officers.
The Guttmacher Institute did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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