(NewsNation) — The number of people traveling out of state for abortions has doubled since 2020, following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
The Guttmacher Institute released new findings on the number of people traveling for reproductive health care. Nearly one in five abortion patients traveled out of state to get an abortion during the first six months of 2023, compared to one in 10 seeking the procedure during the same period in 2020.
In the wake of the Dobbs decision, several states have passed laws that ban or strictly limit abortion. While most states include exceptions for emergency care when the life or health of the mother is at risk, many advocates have said the lack of clarity leaves hospitals reluctant to approve procedures.
Activists in states where abortion is banned or limited have made efforts to help those needing the procedure to travel, including helping pay for the costs or helping people get transportation to travel. Some states are now seeking to criminalize such actions in an effort to prevent people from accessing reproductive health care outside the state.
States that saw the largest increases in out-of-state patients included Illinois, New Mexico, Colorado, Florida and Ohio.
Illinois allows abortion up to the point of fetal viability, which is generally considered to occur around 23 weeks of pregnancy. New Mexico and Colorado allow abortions with no restrictions based on gestational age. While Ohio has restrictions on abortion including a requirement for counseling, abortions are allowed up to 22 weeks and voters have turned out to protect access to reproductive care.
Florida is the outlier of the group. only allowing abortion until 15 weeks of pregnancy. The states surrounding it, however, have more restrictive policies that ban abortion entirely or, in the case of Georgia, ban the procedure after six weeks. Many people do not even know they are pregnant at that point.
Abortion has become a campaign issue for both parties, with Democrats hoping to urge voters to the polls to protect reproductive rights and Republicans campaigning on more restrictions. While some Republican candidates, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, have shown a willingness to compromise on the issue, other Republican leaders have pushed efforts to ban or limit abortion at the national level.