Abortions overseen by U.S. clinicians fell by 6 percent between April and August, according to a new report from the Society of Family Planning (SFP). The net abortion drop attributable to new restrictions imposed after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June is probably considerably smaller than 6 percent, however, because the tally did not take into account seasonal variation or self-managed abortions.
The full impact of the Court's June 24 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson's Women's Health Organization has not been felt yet, because the number of states with bans or severe restrictions on abortion is likely to grow. But these preliminary data illustrate both the power and the practical limitations of state laws that notionally require women to continue pregnancies they want to end.
