Despite relentless attacks from leftists, pro-life groups and institutions can take comfort in the fact that the decision to overturn Roe v Wade has helped save the lives of thousands of babies.
According to a new report from the Society of Family Planning, since the Dobbs decision, “compared to the average monthly number of abortions observed in the pre-Dobbs period, there were 32,260 cumulative fewer abortions from July to December [2022].”
Although the decrease isn’t linear month to month, there were fewer abortions every month following the historic ruling.
The report claims the national abortion rate fell from 13.2 per 1,000 women to 12.3 per 1,000 women following the decision.
However, the most dramatic and noble drops occurred in states which already had abortion bans in place, seeing a “total of 43,410 fewer people who had abortions.”
Most abortions are banned in the following states:
Idaho
South Dakota
Wisconsin
Missouri
Kentucky
West Virginia
Tennessee
Arkansas
Oklahoma
Louisiana
Mississippi
Alabama, and Texas.
Abortion is prohibited after about six months of pregnancy in Georgia, while in Arizona and Florida, abortion is not permitted after 15 weeks.
The gestational limit on abortions in Utah is 18 weeks and 20 weeks in North Carolina.
According to Time Magazine, in those 13 states, there was a 96% drop in abortions bwteen July to December compared to those executed in April and May.
Georgia saw the number of abortions drop by 40%.
However, the largest declines were in the following states:
Texas (15,540 fewer abortions
Georgia (10,930) fewer abortions)
Tennessee (6,560 fewer abortions)
Ohio (4,920 fewer abortions)
Arizona (4,650 fewer abortions)
Louisiana (4,250 fewer abortions)
However, there was a spike in killings in states where abortion was permitted, which was observed in the six months after the Dobbs decision:
Florida (7,190)
Illinois (6,840)
North Carolina (4,730)
Colorado (2,580) and Michigan (2,490)
Research associate with the Charlotte Lozier Institute, Tessa Longbons, told the Daily Caller that the figures prove that pro-life laws are “saving lives.”
“It means babies are being saved,” said Longbons. “It means women are being protected from the harms of abortion.”
BUT some people are clearly not making the trip. We don't know how many, but we know that tens of thousands of people are either getting abortion pills through the gray market online – or just staying pregnant.
— Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux (@ameliatd) April 11, 2023
FiveThirtyEight’s Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux agreed, noting “tens of thousands of people are either getting abortion pills through the gray market online – or just staying pregnant.”
However, Longbons noted the figure in the report “doesn’t include the abortion pills that are being shipped illegally.”
READ: MSNBC’s Joy Reid Slams Abortion Restrictions as “Slavery”