Clinic-provided abortions rose slightly in 2024 while the number of women crossing state lines to get an abortion decreased slightly from 2023, according to a report released Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
Overall, there were 1,038,100 abortions performed in states without abortion bans last year, an increase of less than 1% over 2023, Guttmacher reported.
Florida and South Carolina reported sharp decreases in abortions in the wake of six-week abortion bans that went into effect in 2024. Meanwhile, Wisconsin, Arizona, California, Kansas, Ohio, and Virginia recorded sharp increases, according to Guttmacher.
In a statement to Newsmax, National Right to Life dismissed Guttmacher's reporting, saying it relies on "projections" while "giving too much credit to abortion pill sales by 'virtual' and online pill promoters."
"That said, that they would report a figure similar to last year's probably says that we're not seeing a 'growing market,' that they're not doing a lot more, whatever the actual number of abortions really is," NRL education director Randall K. O'Bannon, Ph.D., told Newsmax.
"Other studies do show that lives are being saved in states with pro-life protections, regardless of what Guttmacher is reporting," he added.
In a statement to Newsmax, the Charlotte Lozier Institute agreed that "abortion drugs by mail continue to drive up national abortion totals."
"At the same time, pro-life states like Florida and South Carolina saw deep declines for in-person abortions," Mia Steupert, research associate at Charlotte Lozier Institute and senior research associate Tessa Cox said in the statement. "This is why the work of pregnancy centers and other life-affirming assistance providers is so critical: when women receive love and support, lives are saved. More than 2,750 pregnancy centers nationwide provide $367 million in goods and services every year saving 800,000 lives in a recent five-year period.”
Guttmacher found that roughly 155,000 women crossed state lines to get an abortion in 2024, down about 14,000 from 2023. However, the number is close to double the number of women who crossed state lines for an abortion in 2020, prior to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
According to Guttmacher, the same four states that provided the highest number of abortions to out-of-state residents last year were the same four in 2023:
- Illinois: 35,000 abortions, representing 39% of all abortions provided in the state
- North Carolina: 16,700 abortions (36% of abortions in the state)
- Kansas: 16,100 abortions (71% of abortions in the state)
- New Mexico: 12,800 abortions (69% of abortions in the state)
"The latest abortion travel data are a clear reminder that the impact of a state's abortion policies extends far beyond its borders," Kimya Forouzan, Guttmacher Institute principal state policy advisor, said in the release. "For instance, the substantial increase in out-of-state abortion patients in Virginia can likely be attributed to Florida's six-week ban that went into effect in May 2024. Despite being hundreds of miles away, Virginia is the second-closest state for Florida residents to seek an abortion after six weeks' gestation and the closest without a mandatory waiting period."
A Florida caseworker said many people don't know their options.
"Many people don't know their choices or think that it's just not possible to go out of state," Bree Wallace, director of case management at the Tampa Bay Abortion fund, told CBS News. "A lot of people hear 'ban' or 'six-week ban' in their state and that's it."
This story has been updated.