Florida's abortions spike post-Roe reversal
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Florida has seen one of the nation's largest increases in abortions post-Roe, a first-of-its-kind study finds.
Driving the news: The number of monthly abortions in Florida increased by an average of 40% after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, according to a new count from abortion rights group Society of Family Planning.
- The study is the first to encompass the full year since the SCOTUS ruling.
Why it matters: A string of state bans and restrictions on abortion hasn't lowered the overall abortion rate, according to the report.
- That could soon change because of newly enacted restrictions in states that border others with heavy abortion restrictions.
By the numbers: Florida averaged 7,705 abortions per month from July 2022 through June 2023, up by an average of more than 1,700 compared to April and May 2022.
- That's an estimated cumulative increase of 20,460 abortions over the course of the year.
The big picture: The number of legal abortions across the U.S. increased in the year after the SCOTUS reversal. But it decreased sharply in states with total bans or sharp restrictions on the procedure, Axios' Jason Millman reports.
- Other states with the largest increases were Illinois (21,500), North Carolina (11,830), California (8,810) and New Mexico (8,640).
- States with the largest declines include Texas (36,970), Georgia (19,660), Tennessee (13,930), Louisiana (9,110) and Alabama (7,620).
Between the lines: Many of the states with large increases border those with abortion bans and serve as access points for people traveling out of state, the report notes.
- North Carolina and Florida in particular have been major access points in the South, where abortion is heavily restricted.
What we're watching: The Florida Supreme Court's ruling in a lawsuit challenging the state's current 15-week abortion ban. That outcome will determine whether a six-week ban approved earlier this year by the Legislature and governor will go into effect.