The following is a summary of “Changes in Availability of Later Abortion Care Before and After Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,” published in the October 2024 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology by Berglas et al.
The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022 ended federal protections for abortion, significantly impacting access to care across the United States.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess changes in procedural abortion availability following the Dobbs decision.
They analyzed data from the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health Abortion Facility Database (n=473 in 2021) to evaluate trends in facility availability and gestational limits for procedural abortion (2021 to 2023).
The results showed an overall decrease of 11.0% in the number of publicly advertised facilities providing procedural abortion, dropping from 473 to 421. One-quarter of the facilities (n=115) that offered procedural abortion in 2021 ceased operations, while an additional 99 facilities reduced their gestational limits. Conversely, 73 facilities increased their gestational limits, and 64 new facilities began providing or publicly advertising procedural abortion services. The number of facilities offering procedural abortion at 14 weeks or later decreased from 327 to 309, and those providing services at 24 weeks or later fell from 60 to 50. Although the overall proportion of facilities providing these services remained stable, the most significant changes occurred in the South, where many facilities closed.
They concluded a substantial reduction in the availability of procedural abortion services since the Dobbs decision, particularly affecting access to later abortion care.
Source: journals.lww.com/greenjournal/fulltext/9900/changes_in_availability_of_later_abortion_care.1169.aspx
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