Arkansas legal abortions plummeted to zero after Dobbs decision

Zero legal abortions took place in Arkansas after the June 24, 2022 announcement by then-Attorney General Leslie Rutledge that the state’s "trigger law" was enacted following the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

• The not-so-surprising findings come from a recent study by the Society of Family planning.

The big picture: All of Arkansas' border states saw the same sharp decline. Meanwhile, numbers rose in nearby Kansas and Illinois, where abortion remains legal, the report shows.

State of play: At least two states say they're building reserves of mifepristone to continue enabling access to the two-pill regimen for medication abortion that is at the center of an ongoing legal battle over the federal Food and Drug Administration's approval of the drug. Two other states are focusing on the makers of the other pill, whose availability isn't threatened, to offer an alternative, Axios' Oriana González writes.

• Medication abortion accounts for 54% of abortions in the U.S., and 98% of those used mifepristone, an abortion drug normally used alongside a second pill, misoprostol.

What we’re watching: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued an order extending a freeze on lower-court orders that imposed restrictions on the abortion pill.

• The order extends the temporary stay issued last week through 11:59pm Friday, April 21, while the court continues to evaluate the case.

Go deeper: Axios' big picture on the abortion issue.