RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Newly released numbers show a nationwide decrease in abortions since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, but North Carolina is seeing the opposite.
The research is known as the #WeCount Report and is sponsored by the Society of Family Planning, that supports abortion rights. The report looks at abortions before and after the Supreme Court decision, breaking them down by state.
“We are collecting data from abortion providers, all abortion providers across the country, before the Dobbs decision and after the Dobbs decision,” Ushma Upadhyay said, a #WeCount Co-Chair and professor at the University of California, specifically San Francisco’s Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH).”
Upadhyay continued, “What we found is, cumulatively, in the first six months since the Dobbs decision, there were about 32,000 fewer abortions in the country.”
The Dobbs decision led to the Roe v. Wade overturn.
While abortion numbers dropped nationwide, North Carolina saw an increase in the average number of abortions provided in one month.
According to the report, before Roe v. Wade was overturned, North Carolina averaged 3,215 abortions per month.
In the six months after it was overturned, the state averaged 3,978 per month.
That’s a total increase of 4,730 total abortions or approximately 788 additional abortions per month.
Researchers note that some of these numbers were calculated mathematically based on historical trends to take into account missing data from a few of the state’s clinics. Regardless, the trend is increasing.
“It’s a lot more patients,” Upadhyay said.
She added that the primary reason for the increase is that people are coming to North Carolina from states with more restrictive abortion laws.
North Carolina abortion clinics are noticing the increase, too.
“We have seen an increase in patients traveling to North Carolina,” Amber Gavin said, the Vice President of Advocacy and Operations at A Woman’s Choice. “We’ve had folks drive over 16 hours one way from Texas to come to our clinics.”
For a look at the full report, click here.
