In the weeks since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, an abortion desert has ballooned in the U.S. South, where bans are hitting Black women hardest.
Across the country Black patients have an abortion rate roughly four times that of their white peers, in part due to lower use of contraception that leads to higher rates of unintended pregnancies. In the states that have moved quickly to enact restrictions, Black women make up a far larger proportion of abortion seekers than in places where abortion remains legal.
In Mississippi, Black patients accounted for 74% of all abortions in 2019, far above the national average of 38%, according to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now, the state has a total abortion ban, and its only clinic plans to relocate to New Mexico.
