Following a sharp drop in access to surgical abortions following the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the percentage of medication-assisted abortions performed in the US increased to over 60% in 2023, according to a report released on Tuesday.
Following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to abolish abortion rights, over a dozen states were able to close their abortion facilities and outlaw the operation altogether, limiting access to surgical abortions.
As a result, using a two-pill regimen to end pregnancies became more common in the US. Since 2020, the number of abortions performed by pill has increased by 10%, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that supports abortion rights.
The Institute uses information gathered from US abortion providers to compile a report every three years.
According to the poll, more than a million abortions were carried out via the US healthcare system in 2023—the highest figure since 2012.
“Medication abortion may be the most practical option – or the only option – for some people as abortion restrictions proliferate post-Dobbs, even if they would have preferred in-person procedural care,” stated Rachel Jones, principal research scientist at Guttmacher, alluding to the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that was overturned by the Supreme Court.
But availability to pharmaceutical abortion is also in jeopardy.
On March 26, the US Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments about a request made by President Joe Biden’s administration to maintain widespread access to mifepristone, one of the two pills that the Food and Drug Administration
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, located in New Orleans, made the decision in August to reinstate limitations on the sale and delivery of mifepristone, which the FDA had previously relaxed to facilitate access during the COVID-19 pandemic. In anticipation of Supreme Court action, that decision is on hold.
The FDA insists that the medication is safe and effective, citing the millions of American women who have used it for decades without experiencing any extremely rare side effects.
According to the Guttmacher poll, the majority of the 2023 increase in abortions occurred in states that have legalized abortion but are close to those that have outlawed it.
Since the poll excluded terminations obtained outside of the official US healthcare system, notably those performed on women underage 18, it is possible that the number of abortions performed in the US was underestimated.
