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SALT LAKE CITY — The number of abortions performed in the United States last year is estimated to have reached the highest level in more than a decade, despite state bans that took effect in multiple states after the Supreme Court overturned federal right to the procedure.
A report published Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute — an abortion rights advocacy group — estimates over 1 million abortions were performed in the formal health care system in 2023, the first full year since the 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health that overturned the federal right. The estimates almost certainly don't reflect the actual number of procedures, but the most recent vital statistics are from 2021.
Guttmacher's most recent report compares 2023's estimates to 2020, but the organization estimates the number of abortions in the U.S. has been climbing since 2017, following a nearly three-decade decline in the prevalence of the procedure beginning in the 1990s.
The majority of procedures, 63%, were medication-assisted abortions, up from 53% in 2020, the most recent year for which there is comprehensive data, according to Guttmacher.
In Utah, where the state's near-total abortion ban has been on hold since 2022 pending the outcome of a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood, the number of abortions increased by an estimated 1,000 between 2020 and 2023, a 32% increase, the report estimates.
Previous data from Guttmacher has shown a dramatic increase in patients who cross state lines to seek abortions in states where it remains legal. The latest report shows states where the procedure remains legal bordering states with restrictions — such as New Mexico, Kansas and Illinois — have seen large increases in patients from other states since the Supreme Court decision.
Mary Taylor, president of Pro-Life Utah, told KSL.com she was "incredibly happy" when Roe v. Wade was overturned, but has been "very frustrated" with what she says are delays in the implementation of Utah's trigger abortion ban.
"It has been a roller coaster ride for sure," Taylor said Wednesday. "To be honest with you, I did not think I would live to see the day that Roe v. Wade was overturned. ... I had no expectation that (the trigger law) would actually be going into effect so quickly, so that was another high. That became the law of the land for three days and then, of course, the injunction — and ever since that point has been very frustrating. We're hoping in the end that it will be worth all of this heartache, but we'll wait and see."
After hearing oral arguments over the preliminary injunction that has paused Utah's trigger law in August, the state Supreme Court has yet to issue a decision. That decision could come at any point, although it will likely not end the legal wrangling as the question of the trigger ban's constitutionality is still before a lower court.
In the meantime, the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah has repeatedly stressed that the procedure remains legal in the state through 18 weeks of pregnancy. Because the numbers from Guttmacher are just estimates, Jason Stevenson, the association's senior director of public policy, said they don't necessarily reflect a real increase in the number of abortions, but show there is still a desire for the procedure in Utah.
"There are thousands of Utahns that depend on abortion to help manage their health care and that isn't going to change, no matter what the Legislature does," he said. "Abortion care is health care. It's something that people look to to help plan their families ... and even manage serious health issues like miscarriage. So, there are thousands of Utahns who encounter scenarios where abortion is a necessary and vital aspect of the health care they need, and that's what this data tells us."
Utah lawmakers have continued to tweak the state's policy on abortion, and passed a bill repealing a de facto ban on abortion clinics earlier this month. The bill was signed by Gov. Spencer Cox last week and proponents hope it will "simplify" the legal questions before the courts, although it's unclear if the bill will speed up a decision on the abortion ban.
For now, supporters and opponents of abortion rights are left waiting and hoping for a decision in their favor.
