Abortions in Alabama declined from an average of 635 per month to zero after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, according to a new study.
The Human Life Protection Act was passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey in 2019. The lone exception to the ban is pregnancies threatening the mother’s life.
SCOTUS ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022 that abortion was now an issue decided at the state level, thus overturning Roe v. Wade.
According to a study released on Tuesday by a pro-abortion group called the Society for Family Planning, states with the largest declines in the number of abortions during the 12 months after the Dobbs decision compared to baseline include Texas (36,970), Georgia (19,660), Tennessee (13,930), Louisiana (9,110), Alabama (7,620), and Wisconsin (7,260).
According to the study, Alabama had a pre-Dobbs monthly average of 635 abortions. That total was reduced to zero monthly abortions after the Dobbs decision.
State Rep. Terri Collins (R-Decatur), one of the sponsors of the Human Life Protection Act in 2019, told 1819 News on Tuesday she wasn’t surprised about the study’s results.
“I don’t think it’s surprising. I think that’s where we thought we would be moving and making sure that we are taking care of the children that are born,” Collins said. Trying to make sure that we are doing all we can as a state to make sure…I think the last committee we were at was a women’s commission, and we were talking about making sure that women and health care is provided. We’re seeing more and more centers close down, hospitals and things like that to make sure that we’re considering all those ramifications, so that’s what we’re looking at.”
According to the study, the number of states where abortion has been banned increased from 9 states in July 2022 to 14 in June 2023. States where abortion was banned in July 2022 included Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Kentucky and Louisiana banned abortion in August, and Idaho and Tennessee did so in September 2022. North Dakota banned abortion in April 2023. States with abortion bans experienced the greatest reductions in number of abortions. In states with abortion bans, cumulatively, there have been 94,930 fewer abortions one year after Dobbs.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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