Legal Abortions Fell Around 6 Percent in Two Months After End of Roe

In the first two months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, legal abortions nationwide declined by more than 10,000, a drop of about 6 percent, according to the first attempt at a nationwide count of abortions since the decision.

The total decrease in abortions is likely to be lower than the cited estimate because the data does not include abortions outside the regulated U.S. health system, including so-called self-managed abortions that do not involve a medical provider. A growing number of women have been ordering abortion pills online from overseas providers or obtaining them from Mexico, where a pill that can end a pregnancy early in gestation is available over-the-counter as an ulcer medicine. Some women might also have turned to herbs or other methods to end pregnancies.

Because the WeCount data is new, it cannot compare abortion numbers this summer from those last summer. Studies suggest that abortion typically follows a seasonal pattern, peaking in February and March before declining in summer months. Some of the measured decline may also reflect such trends.

The changes were calculated by comparing the number of legal abortions in the months after the decision with the number of abortions provided in April. At that time, Texas had already imposed a major abortion restriction, and abortion was difficult to get in other states, but it was still legal in all 50 states.

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