Report: Increase in abortions since 2017

The Guttmacher Institute released a report Wednesday that said abortions in the United States went up by 8 percent from 2017 to 2020 — the first rise in decades. The institute, a pro-abortion policy group that surveys abortion providers every three years, said 1 in 5 pregnant women got an abortion in 2020. The numbers went from 862,000 babies aborted in 2017 to 930,000 in 2020. This is also the first time that the abortion pill accounted for more than half of all abortions.

Why the rise? The study did not determine a precise cause but identified some potential factors. In Illinois alone, abortions increased by 25 percent, likely due to the state allowing Medicaid to fund abortions in 2018 and people traveling to the state for the procedure. The institute also said the pandemic led fewer women to become pregnant and more to choose abortion. Following the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, the case that could overturn Roe v. Wade, the institute estimates that 26 states, which perform about 35 percent of U.S. abortions, will create policies to completely or partially protect babies from abortion.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Savas’ report in Vitals on how the Biden administration is planning to respond to the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs.