Comprehensive national abortion statistics are hard to come by in the United States because data is split betweenBut a recent study indicates a sharp rise in abortions in states that neighbor those which have moved to ban the procedure following the landmark court decision last summer., earlier this month suggests"that significant numbers of residents of states with abortion bans are traveling to neighboring states for abortion care.
The midwestern state of Illinois, whose neighbors Indiana and Missouri have banned the procedure, saw a 69 percent increase in abortions, while in Colorado, surrounded by conservative Wyoming, Utah, Kansas and Nebraska, the figure jumped 89 percent."In the last year, we've seen more people than ever traveling to access care," Veronica Jones, the group's chief operating officer, said in June.
New York adopted its shield legislation in June this year. Over the next month, Aid Access, a reproductive rights initiative, said it sent abortion pills to 3,500 patients living in states that ban abortion. Since then, the numbers have doubled and continue to increase, according to Linda Prine, a New York based doctor involved with the initiative.