Abortion
Overview
Access to abortion care is essential for the health and well-being of all individuals. While there is a substantial body of scientific research supporting both the importance and safety of abortion, many individuals face myriad obstacles to obtain abortion-related healthcare or are denied access to it. Restrictive abortion laws and policies laid down in the name of health and safety do not serve the stated purpose, but cause severe hardship and stress both to those seeking to end a pregnancy and to their families. As a result, black and other people of color, indigenous people, low socioeconomic and impoverished individuals, rural-based, teens, and LBGTQ+ individuals among others are disproportionately impacted to accessing abortion care.
- Key Facts on Abortion in the United States Linked here
- World Health Organization, Department of Reproductive Health and Research. Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems. 2nd ed., World Health Organization, 2nd edition, 132 p., 2012, Sexual and reproductive health, linked here
- Abortion Access: International Comparison Linked here
- The Safety and Quality of Abortion Care in the United States. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Linked here
- Committee on Reproductive Health Services. Public Report Webinar: The Safety and Quality of Abortion Care in the United States. 23 March 2019. Assessing the Safety and Quality of Abortion Care, Webinar linked here.
- Cartwright, Alice F., et al. “Identifying National Availability of Abortion Care and Distance From Major US Cities: Systematic Online Search.” J Med Internet Res, vol. 20(5): e186., 2018, Linked here.
- Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Brief Linked Here
- Moyle et al., v. US (No. 23-726), Idaho v. US (No. 23-727),603 U.S. (2024). S. Court vacated the stay and dismissed the Writ of Certiorari before judgement as improvidently granted. Available at: linked here
- The court’s ruling sends the case back to the F. Dis. Ct. ID to proceed with litigation and reinstates the lower court’s preliminary injunction. See US v. Idaho, 623 F. Supp. 3d 1096 (D. Idaho 2022)
- United States v. Idaho, 623 F. Supp. 3d 1096 (D. Idaho 2022) The F. Dis. Ct. ID, Winmill, J., issued a preliminary injunction regarding a provision of Idaho’s abortion statute on preemption grounds. linked here
- The Idaho law, ID Code Ann. S. 18-622(2 (a)(i) (Supp. 2023) prohibits abortion unless necessary to prevent the pregnant person’s death and conflicts with the federal law, EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act) (42. U.S.C. s. 1395dd) that requires Medicare-funded hospitals provide necessary stabilizing treatment for emergency medical conditions.
- FDA et al., v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al., Danco Laboratories, L.L.C. v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. (S. Ct., No. 23-235, June 13, 2024) (Cert. granted to 5th Cir.) S. Ct. held plaintiffs lack Art. III standing to challenge the FDA’s regulations for mifepristone. The case is reversed and remanded. Available at: Linked here
- In re Whole Woman’s Health, et al. On Petition for Writ of Mandamus No. 21-962, January 20, 2022: Linked here
- Supreme Court of Texas, No. 22-0033 (March 11, 2022) Whole Woman’s Health, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Judge Austin Reeve Jackson; Penny Clarkston; Mark Lee Dickson; Stephen Brint Carlton; Katherine A. Thomas; Cecile Erwin Young; Allison Vordenbaumen Benz; Ken Paxton, Defendants-Appellants
- On Certified Question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit linked
- Outcome of abortion related state constitutional amendment measures in 2024 election Linked here
- The State Abortion Policy Landscape One Year Post-Roe Linked here
- Interactive Map: US Abortion Policies and Access After Roe Linked here (updated 2023)
- State Legislation Tracker, Major Developments in Sexual & Reproductive Health
Linked here (updated June 1, 2023) - Guttmacher Institute, “An Overview of State Abortion Laws”, State Laws and Policies, 1 January, 2023, Linked here
- A Review of Exceptions in State Abortions Bans: Implications for the Provision of Abortion Services Linked here
- State Policy Trends 2022: In a Devastating Year, US Supreme Court’s Decision to Overturn Roe Leads to Bans, Confusion, and Chaos Linked here
- State Policy Trends at Midyear 2021, Nash, Elizabeth, Naide, Sophia, Guttmacher Institute. “Already the Worst Legislative Year Ever for U.S. Abortion Rights.” Policy Analysis, 1 July 2021, Linked here.
- New KFF National Survey of OBGYNs Finds Dobbs Decision Has Made It Harder to Treat Miscarriages and Other Pregnancy-Related Emergencies in Affected States; In States with Bans, Half Report Patients Who Were Unable to Obtain an Abortion They Sought linked here
- Institute for Women’s Policy Research. An Economic Case for Ending Harmful State Policies. The Costs of Reproductive Health Restrictions, Linked here.
- The Society of Family Planning’s #WeCount report (2025) documented that total abortions increased, largely driven by telehealth services, which expanded from 5% of all abortions in 2022 to 25% in 2024. Linked here
- Travel for abortion care has doubled since 2020, now more common to cross multiple state lines to access services. Linked here
- CDC Abortion Surveillance Report — United States, 2020 Linked here
- “For the First Time Ever, U.S. States Enacted More Than 100 Abortion Restrictions in a Single Year” Policy Analysis, Guttmacher Institute Linked here
- In 2021, 108 state abortion restrictions were enacted in 19 states
- For the period January 1-March 15, 2022, no restrictions were enacted however 519 abortion restrictions were introduced in 41 states
- For the period January 1- March 15, 2022, 82 abortion bans were introduced in 30 states. Focus on Bans similar to SB8, 15-week and trigger bans
- Abortion bans passed in one chamber in 7 states (Arizona, Florida Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma and W. Virginia)
- According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 92% of abortions occur in the first trimester of pregnancy. Furthermore, 43% of abortions occur by six weeks gestation, 36% occur between seven and nine weeks, and 13% occur at 10 to 13 weeks. Ranji, Usha, Diep, Karen, Salganicoff, Alina. “Key Facts on Abortion in the United States.” Kaiser Family Foundation, 12 July 2022, Linked here
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2018 Surveillance Reporting for Abortions in the U.S, 619,591 abortions were reported to the agency from 49 reporting areas. According to the report, 77.7% of individuals had abortions at or before 9 weeks gestation, and 92.2 % had abortions at or before 13 weeks gestation. Kortsmit K, Jatlaoui TC, Mandel MG, et al. Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2018. Linked here
- A National Survey of OBGYN’s Experiences After Dobbs KFF, Frederiksen, Brittni et al., June 2023, Linked here
- Nationally, in states where abortion is banned, four in ten (40%) OBGYNs report they have personally felt constraints on their ability to provide care for miscarriages and other pregnancy-related medical emergencies (p.3)
- 36% of OBGYNs nationally and 55% practicing in states where abortion is banned (or 47% practicing is states where there are gestational limits) report their ability to practice within the standard of care has become worse (p.12-13)
- Four in ten OBGYNs nationally (44%) and six in ten practicing in states where abortion is banned or where there are gestational limits, report their decision-making autonomy has become worse since the Dobbs ruling (p.3)
- 68% of OBGYNs report the ruling has worsened their ability to manage pregnancy-related emergencies (p.3)
- 64% believe the Dobbs decision has worsened pregnancy-related mortality,
- 70% believe the decision has worsened racial and ethnic inequities in maternal health
- 55% believe the decision has worsened the ability to attract new OBGYNs to the field
- Inequity in US Abortion Rights and Access: The End of Roe Is Deepening Existing Divides Linked here
- 1 Year Without Roe, Health Professionals’ stories Linked here
- Navigating the New Quagmire (post-Dobbs) and Its Impacts on Abortion and Reproductive Health Care Linked here
- Impact of the Dobbs Decision on Medical Education and Training in Abortion Care
Linked here - Study examines the psychological toll (emotional distress, financial strain, and workplace disruption) of traveling to seek abortion care, especially among low-income individuals. Linked here
- Forcing doctors to think like lawyers, and hospitals to create new protocols. Medical Impact of Roe Reversal Goes Well Beyond Abortion Clinics, Doctors Say State abortion bans carry narrow but sometimes vague exceptions, and years of prison time. - NYT: Kate Zernike, Sept. 10, 2022, Linked here
- Article discusses abortion ban exceptions to save the life of the pregnant person forces doctors to compromise their medical judgement concerning the best interests of the patients health and well-being and shift to legal considerations and potential criminalization for patient care.
- Abortion laws and cancer treatment. Charlotte Huff, “New Abortion Laws Jeopardize Cancer Treatment for Pregnant Patients In states with abortion bans, doctors have questions about how they can treat pregnant patients with cancer.” Linked here
- The article discusses the difficulties physicians and their pregnant patients face to obtain cancer treatment in states that ban abortion but allow an exception for a medical emergency.
- “Willing but unable: Physicians’ referral knowledge as barriers to abortion care.” SSM – Anderson, Elizabeth M., et al., Population Health, Volume 17, March 2022, Linked here
- Obstacles to Care Mount 1 Year After Dobbs Decision (ANSIRH) Linked here
- “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on abortion care utilization and disparities by age.” Fulcher, Isabel R., et al., American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Volume 226, Issue 6, June 2022, Linked here
- American Psychological Association. “Restricting access to abortion likely to lead to mental health harms, APA asserts.” 3 May 2022, Linked here
- Effects of Unwanted Pregnancy on Women’s Lives, Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH). “The Turnaway Study,.” University of San Francisco, (UCSF), Linked here.
- “As More States Restrict Abortions, Research Points to Negative Health Outcomes for Women, Families.” Bai, Nina. University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), 22 May 2019, Linked here.
- “An Examination of Decision Difficulty and Abortion Stigma, Social Science & Medicine” Rocca, Corinne H., et al., Social Science & Medicine, Emotions and Decision Rightness over Five Years, Volume 248, March 2020, Linked here.
- Abortion and Mental Health, American Psychological Association, June 2018, Linked here.
- Abortion ban causes outsized harm to people of color Linked here
- Induced Abortion and Breast Cancer Risk, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Committee Opinion, No. 434, June 2009, Linked here.
- Care Post-Roe: Documenting cases of poor-quality care since the Dobbs decision
Linked here
- Care Post-Roe: Documenting cases of poor-quality care since the Dobbs decision, Grossman D., et al., Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), University of California, San Francisco, May 2023, Reported cases of harm to patients including increased morbidity, aggravated pregnancy complications, inability to provide time sensitive care, and more delays to receiving care. Linked here
- Guide to Language and Abortion, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), The Guide provides medically accurate terminology to discuss abortion Linked here
- Abortion Care Guidelines Linked here (WHO)
- Induced-abortion Fact Sheet (ACOG) Linked here
- “Effects of Carrying an Unwanted Pregnancy to Term on Women’s Existing Children.” The Journal of Pediatrics, vol. 205, 2019, pp. 183-189. ScienceDirect, Linked here.