Current:Home > InvestReport: Abortion declined significantly in North Carolina in first month after new restrictions-LoTradeCoin
Report: Abortion declined significantly in North Carolina in first month after new restrictions
View Date:2024-12-23 18:04:10
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina appears to have had a significant decline in abortions performed in the first month after new restrictions approved by state legislators took effect, according to estimates released Wednesday by a research group.
The findings by the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, are based on data collected from a sample of abortion providers in the state as part of its new effort by the group to calculate monthly trends in abortions — both surgical and medication — nationwide.
A new law approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly over the veto of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper that started July 1 banned nearly all abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, with additional exceptions for rape and incest and for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies. Before July 1, North Carolina had a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks.
The data showed an estimated 2,920 abortions were provided in July in North Carolina within the state’s formal health care system, compared with an estimated 4,230 in June, or a 31% decline, according to Guttmacher’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study. It found the state had by far the largest decline nationwide, which saw an estimated 7% month-over-month reduction.
The group’s policy experts contend that while the new 12-week near-ban is having an effect on discouraging abortion, a new in-person requirement to receive state-mandated counseling may be more influential. That requires a woman seeking an abortion to visit a provider to comply with the state’s previously approved 72-hour waiting period, rather than check in with a phone call.
Traveling twice to a provider, who could be hours away, may be too onerous for some women, leading some to obtain abortion pills on their own by mail or to carry their pregnancy to term, according to the Institute.
The July estimate “likely represents both North Carolinians and out-of-state patients who are no longer able to access vital reproductive health care due to arbitrary gestational bans and medically unnecessary barriers,” lsaac Maddow-Zimet, who leads Guttmacher’s new study project, said in a news release.
The group’s analysis cautioned that North Carolina’s marked decline could in part reflect seasonal variations in when pregnancies occur and that trends may change in the months ahead as patients and providers adapt to the new law. The report, which collects data back to January, showed North Carolina’s abortion totals largely steady for the first six months of the year.
The group said its new data showed no increases in abortions provided in South Carolina, Virginia, the District of Columbia or Maryland, which could have contributed to North Carolina’s decline in July if they occurred.
The conservative North Carolina Values Coalition, which supports even further abortion restrictions, said it was encouraged by the reduction in abortions as the law was carried out. The new law also included funds to increase contraceptive services, reduce infant and maternal mortality, and provide paid maternity leave for state employees and teachers.
“It is great news that the lives of more innocent unborn children are being saved and that the new law appears to be working to keep North Carolina from being a destination for abortion,” Coalition Executive Director Tami Fitzgerald said in a separate news release.
After the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, North Carolina had become a refuge for residents in nearby states like Georgia, Tennessee and West Virginia that severely restricted or banned abortions. Guttmacher estimated abortions in North Carolina had increased 55% during the first half of 2023 compared with half of the total for 2020 across all months.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and a doctor sued in June over provisions in the new law. A federal judge has blocked two such portions, including a requirement that abortions performed after 12 weeks occur in a hospital.
For the report, Guttmacher officials said that abortions are counted as having occurred when a patient had a surgical abortion — also called a procedural abortion — or abortion pills were dispensed.
The group said it doesn’t release specific numbers of facilities sampled to protect confidentiality. But Guttmacher oversampled the number of facilities — clinics, hospitals or doctor’s offices among them — in North Carolina to better calculate the effect of the new restrictions, according to a spokesperson.
___
Associated Press data journalist Nicky Forster contributed to this report.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- Pete Alonso's best free agent fits: Will Mets bring back Polar Bear?
- Climate Change Threatens 60% of Toxic Superfund Sites, GAO Finds
- Will artificial intelligence help — or hurt — medicine?
- The Voice’s Niall Horan Wants to Give This Goodbye Gift to Blake Shelton
- Federal judge denies request to block measure revoking Arkansas casino license
- T3 24-Hour Deal: Get 76% Off Curling Irons, Hair Dryers, and Flat Irons
- More gay and bisexual men will now be able to donate blood under finalized FDA rules
- A Smart Grid Primer: Complex and Costly, but Vital to a Warming World
- In bizarro world, Tennessee plays better defense, and Georgia's Kirby Smart comes unglued
- ESPN's Shaka Hislop recovering after collapsing on air before Real Madrid-AC Milan match
Ranking
- Unexpected pairing: New documentary tells a heartwarming story between Vietnam enemies
- Will artificial intelligence help — or hurt — medicine?
- Inside the Coal War Games
- It Took This Coal Miner 14 Years to Secure Black Lung Benefits. How Come?
- When do new 'Yellowstone' episodes come out? Here's the Season 5, Part 2 episode schedule
- German Law Gave Ordinary Citizens a Stake in Switch to Clean Energy
- Eli Lilly says an experimental drug slows Alzheimer's worsening
- Lily-Rose Depp Makes Rare Comment About Dad Johnny Depp Amid Each of Their Cannes Premieres
Recommendation
-
Police capture Tennessee murder suspect accused of faking his own death on scenic highway
-
T3 24-Hour Deal: Get 76% Off Curling Irons, Hair Dryers, and Flat Irons
-
Senate weighs bill to strip failed bank executives of pay
-
Irina Shayk Proves Lingerie Can Be High-Fashion With Risqué Cannes Film Festival Look
-
College Football Playoff ranking release: Army, Georgia lead winners and losers
-
Her job is to care for survivors of sexual assault. Why aren't there more like her?
-
Worldwide Effort on Clean Energy Is What’s Needed, Not a Carbon Price
-
Study finds gun assault rates doubled for children in 4 major cities during pandemic