HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — The Carolinas saw an uptick in abortions in the years prior to the passage of legislation that restricted access to abortion care in the state this year.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, between 2020 and June 2023, there was an uptick of 57% in abortions in North Carolina and a 124% increase in abortions in South Carolina. Guttmacher organization notes that the increase in South Carolina may have had something to do with the passage of restrictive legislation in Georgia in July 2022, prior to South Carolina’s own law being implemented in August 2023.
Both North and South Carolina have passed legislation banning abortions. South Carolina has banned most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, and North Carolina recently passed a law, despite Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, that bans most abortions after 12 weeks.
In the coming months, Guttmacher officials said that they intend to start collecting data specifically from people who had to cross state lines to obtain an abortion since the overturn of Roe vs. Wade last year.
Guttmacher estimates that about 25,000 abortions were performed in North Carolina in the first six months of 2023.
Guttmacher is a research and policy organization that aims to improve sexual health and expand reproductive rights worldwide.
