More than 170,000 people have traveled out of state to receive abortion care since January of last year, according to new data from the Guttmacher Institute, a number underscored by the growing difficulty of accessing care in some states.
Out-of-state care accounted for more than 15 percent of the estimated 1 million physician-provided abortion procedures between 2023 and March of this year, according to the data. This number has more than doubled since 2020.
“Traveling to obtain abortion care requires individuals to overcome enormous financial and logistical barriers, and our findings show the lengths to which people will travel to get the care they want and deserve,” said Guttmacher data scientist Isaac Maddow- Zimet, in a report. declaration.
“Despite the incredible resilience of abortion patients and providers, we cannot lose sight of the fact that this is neither normal nor acceptable,” he continued. “A person should not have to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to receive basic health care.”
Fourteen states have near-complete abortion bans, a rapid change triggered by the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned a previous federal rule mandating access to abortion procedures.
States that border those with recent near-total bans, such as Kansas and New Mexico, have seen the majority of abortions in their state performed by out-of-state patients. Texas’ abortion ban is one of the most restrictive in the country.
Florida also served as a state with relatively easy access to abortion care compared to its neighbors until earlier this year. The state implemented a strict six-week abortion ban in May.
“The state of residence data makes clear that this policy change will be devastating not only for Floridians, but also for the thousands of others who would have traveled there after being denied care in their home states,” he said. Guttmacher Vice President Kelly Baden on Florida Prohibition. “Once again, we see that one state’s abortion policies affect thousands of people beyond that state’s borders.”
The new bans could also have political ramifications. Florida is among the states with an abortion rights measure on the ballot in November, and Democrats hope to use referendums to increase turnout.
Two-thirds of the approximately 1 million abortions were performed through medication, the institute also found. That method was under threat through a federal lawsuit until last week, when the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government has the authority to limit restrictions on certain abortion medications.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
