Data collected by the Society of Family Planning, a pro-abortion rights group, has revealed a six per cent drop in abortions carried out across the United States two months after the landmark case of Roe v Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court. 

This is contained in a report called #WeCount, where data from April 2022 was compared to August 2022. 

“The estimated number of abortions provided by a clinician decreased from 85,020 abortions in April 2022, before the decision, to 79,620 abortions in August 2022. This change represents a decrease of six per cent in the number of abortions nationally, comparing April and August 2022,” the report said. 

In May, a draft opinion of the Supreme Court leaked, revealing the court’s conservative majority’s intent to reverse federal abortion rights and send the issue of legalisation back to the state level. #WeCount found that abortions nationwide increased two months after the draft of the Supreme Court decision was leaked.

In June, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade.

In August, Indiana became the first state to pass a near-total ban on abortion. The new laws allow exceptions for when the mother’s life is at stake and for fatal fetal anomalies up to 20 weeks post-fertilisation. 

It would also allow exceptions for some abortions if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.

The report notes that 13 states banned or severely restricted abortion, evident in the abortion numbers in those states dropping close to zero. 

Nine other states added significant abortion restrictions, and legal abortions in those states fell by a third. 

#WeCount said that In states with bans and restrictions, 22,000 fewer abortions were recorded in July and August, compared to April, before the decision.