Just a few years back, the Supreme Court did what many pro-life activists thought would never happen: overturn Roe v. Wade. This enabled states to begin tackling the issue on their own, with a significant number of them around the country passing laws that protect pre-born children in large numbers. It eventually led to a huge shift on abortion trends and numbers, especially as it relates to how these murders — and that’s what they are — are carried out, according to a report from the very pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute.
Folks, this is not good news. In fact, it’s proof we need to be working even harder to eliminate the scourge of abortion and protect innocent babies from being snuffed out in the one place they should be safest: their mother’s womb.
According to a report from LifeSiteNews:
The pro-abortion research entity reports that the number of abortion clinics in the United States has decreased, especially in states that have enacted and enforced stronger pro-life laws. Between 2020 and 2023, the number of clinics dropped 5 percent, from 807 to 765. In 14 states now enforcing total abortion bans, all clinics have closed, where there used to be a total of 63 clinics in 2020. This trend would vindicate a previous report from LifeSiteNews that there is indeed a tangible impact of laws designed to uphold the dignity and sanctity of all life, stopping abortions and saving lives in the process.
Unfortunately, states that still allow the murder of the unborn have seen a small increase in clinic numbers, suggesting a shift in focus for the abortion-industrial complex to states with a lack of protections for preborn babies. In 2023, approximately 1,037,000 abortions were reported in states that have not implemented total abortion bans, an 11 percent increase from the 930,160 abortions recorded in 2020. If true, this would mark the highest recorded number of murdered unborn babies in a single year in over a decade. It is worth noting that these figures from the Guttmacher Institute exclude self-managed abortions.
So while the number of abortion facilities keeps on dropping, we’re witnessing new challenges emerge for advocates of the pre-born. Women in large numbers are resorting to interstate travel, abortion medications, and even methods utilized self-induce an abortion. The Guttmacher Institute’s report reveals that in 2023, abortions that resulted from taking pills accounted for a total of 63 percent of all clinician-provided abortions in states that do not have complete bans on the vile practice, which is a huge increase from 53 percent in 2020.
“Abortion pills” are a lethal combination of mifepristone and misoprostol, which are commonly prescribed by virtual clinics or even obtained online. Pro-life advocates argue that this approach dehumanizes the unborn child, reducing their life to a matter of convenience for the mother. A report from NBC News found that the rise of abortion pills, marketed as convenient and private, is primarily due to “a small network of medical providers who found ways to prescribe and ship abortion pills around the country from places where they’re still legal.” Another concerning trend is the significant rise in women traveling across state lines for abortions. The Guttmacher Institute reports that 81,000 women traveled out of state for an abortion in 2020. In 2023, that number jumped dramatically to over 166,000.
The executive director of the Brigid Alliance, Serra Sippel, which provides resources and funding for women to travel across the interstate in order to get abortions, recently spoke with NBC News, saying, “It was kind of all hands on deck after [Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health] to get people the information and access to make sure that these abortion bans were not going to stop people from being able to access care.”
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On the other hand, many pro-life advocates have pointed out that the fact travel across state lines has increased is proof that laws restricting abortion and shutting down facilities is having a positive impact on behavior and saves lives.