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The report reveals an 8% increase in abortions since data was last collected in 2017, rising from 862,320 abortions to 930,160 abortions in 2020. In 2020, about one in five pregnancies ended in abortion and the abortion ratio — the number of abortions per 100 pregnancies — increased from 18.4% in 2017 to 20.6% in 2020, a 12% increase, per Guttmacher.
Additionally, there was a 6% decrease in births between 2017 and 2020.
“The long-term decline in abortion is over, and the number of abortions in the United States is actually increasing,” said Rachel Jones, research scientist who co-authored an analysis of the data for Guttmacher,NPRreports. “The need for abortion is growing at a time when the Supreme Court is getting ready to strike downRoe v. Wade.”
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Protestors fight for the right for abortions.
The Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmarkRoe v. Wadedecision, which guaranteed the right to abortion.
Abortion rights advocates' fears became a reality on May 2, when a leaked draft opinion showed thata majority of the Supreme Court intends to vote to overturn theRoe v. Wadedecision. In the draft opinion — which Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed to be authentic — Justice Samuel Alito writes that “Roewas egregiously wrong from the start,” and it “must be overruled.”
The decision is not final, andabortions are still legal across the United States. But many conservative-led states have already put in place abortion restrictions, and clinics in some states havestopped performing abortions.
source: people.com
