The data, the raw, unfiltered madness of it all, rolled in like a freight train fueled by bad decisions and nightmares. The number of women getting abortions in the U.S. actually rose in the first three months of 2024, compared to the dark days before the Supreme Court butchered Roe v. Wade. This wasn’t just a blip on the radar; it was a full-blown explosion, akin to the brewery mishaps in Eastern Europe that leave chaos and shattered dreams in their wake.
The Democratic-controlled states had gone to great lengths to expand access, their efforts shining through like the bloodlust of Dobermans in a pit fight. A major reason for the spike? Laws protecting telemedicine doctors who dared to prescribe abortion pills in places where abortion bans reigned supreme. This quarterly #WeCount report from the Society of Family Planning laid it all out in stark, unforgiving detail.
With elections looming in November, abortion-rights supporters were banking on this issue to drive voters to the polls like rabid dogs to fresh meat. In some states, voters would decide whether to enshrine or reject state-level abortion protections, a veritable bloodsport of democracy.
The fallout from the Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization had remade the landscape of abortion across the country. The #WeCount data, meticulously collected since April 2022, painted a vivid picture of how those providing and seeking abortions had adapted to the shifting legal sands.
The survey found the number of abortions plummeted to nearly zero in states with total bans, and declined by about half in places with six-week bans. Fourteen states were enforcing bans on all stages of pregnancy, while another four had bans after six weeks, cutting off access before many women even knew they were pregnant.
But in the states where abortion remained legal, the numbers surged. Illinois, Kansas, and New Mexico saw significant increases, their proximity to ban states turning them into sanctuaries of reproductive freedom. Without the post-Dobbs bans, there would have been about 9,900 more abortions per month, a staggering 208,000 total since the ruling.
Abortion pills and telemedicine were the secret weapons in this fight. In March alone, doctors using telemedicine to prescribe abortion pills in restrictive states accounted for about 1 in 10 abortions in the U.S. These laws, enacted in Democratic-led states, had started taking effect last year, easing the burden on clinics and creating more space for those who sought in-person care.
Abortion opponents, ever vigilant, warned that the battle over the abortion drug mifepristone was far from over. Despite a narrow Supreme Court ruling that preserved access for now, the threat of legal challenges loomed large.
The latest survey data covered the first three months of 2024, showing an average of just under 99,000 abortions per month, up from 84,000 before Dobbs. January marked a grim milestone, with over 100,000 abortions reported in a single month for the first time since the survey began.
Florida, one of the states where abortions had increased, saw a drastic change in April when a six-week ban took effect. The data hadn’t yet reflected this shift, but the political winds were already stirring. A November ballot measure could make abortion legal until viability, around 23 or 24 weeks, if it received at least 60% approval.
The stakes were high. Abortion-related measures were already on the ballot in six states, with more potentially pending. The relentless push from abortion-rights supporters, who had prevailed in all seven ballot questions since 2022, showed no signs of slowing down.
In states like Arizona and Missouri, the fight was fierce. The potential return of a Civil War-era ban in Arizona had galvanized voters, while in Missouri, a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion rights awaited certification. These battles were more than political; they were a war for personal freedom, a fight against the dark forces seeking to control women’s bodies and futures.
And so, the chaos continued, a relentless, maddening dance of policy, politics, and deeply personal choices. The landscape of abortion in America had become a battleground, a place where the echoes of Doberman growls and the memory of brewery explosions in distant lands seemed all too fitting.
