Five Facts on Abortion in the US
The Big Insight: The imminent Supreme Court ruling on abortion could have an immediate impact on the legality of abortion due to state laws that are already on the books.
While the upcoming Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization could lead to new federal and state legislation by both supporters and opponents of legal abortion, laws already on the books will have immediate impact on the accessibility of abortion in 13 states, with another 13 likely to see new restrictions on abortion in the near term.
Here are five facts on state-level abortion laws and abortion in the U.S.
1. Thirteen states with about 69 million residents have “trigger laws” in place that would almost immediately ban most or all abortions.
In Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming, laws are on the books that would prohibit most or all abortions as soon as Roe v. Wade is overturned.
2. Thirteen state legislatures in states totaling about 93 million residents have already passed preemptive limitations on abortion.
While many of the “trigger law” states are lower-population states in the South and Rocky Mountain region, legislatures in larger states including Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio — as well as Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wisconsin — have already passed legislation that would limit accessibility of abortion in the event of Roe being overturned.
3. At least 18 states and the District of Columbia have laws on the books to keep abortion legal in some form.
Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington all have laws that will continue to permit legal abortion after Roe. Florida, Iowa, and Montana also have protections on the books, but abortion rights analysts predict these laws will be repealed.
4. About three out of five Americans believe that abortion should be legal all or most of the time.
According to a Pew Research Center survey, conducted in early March 2022, found that 61% of Americans support legally accessible abortion, with 19% saying it should be legal with no exceptions, 36% saying it should be legal in most cases and six percent saying it should be legal in all cases, but there are some exceptions when abortion should be against the law.
5. The number of abortions in the U.S. fell by 60% between 1981 and 2019.
According to the CDC, abortion rates have been following for decades. Abortions in the nation peaked in 1981 at a rate of 29.3 per 1,000 for women between the pages of 15 and 44, In 2019, the same data set showed the rate was 11.4 per 1,000.
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