Tipsheet

Wow: More Abortion Restrictions Passed the Last Two Years than in the Past Decade

A new analysis from the Guttmacher Institute reveals some encouraging news for the country’s pro-life advocates. Incredibly, from 2011-2013, more restrictions were placed on abortion than in the past decade.

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Twenty-two states enacted 70 abortion restrictions during 2013. This makes 2013 second only to 2011 in the number of new abortion restrictions enacted in a single year. To put recent trends in even sharper relief, 205 abortion restrictions were enacted over the past three years (2011–2013), but just 189 were enacted during the entire previous decade (2001–2010).

Perhaps the most notable state to restrict abortion services this past year was Texas, which passed a sweeping pro-life bill in July to ban the procedure after 20 weeks, despite State Senator Wendy Davis’s attempt to filibuster the bill.

In contrast to these incredible statistics, only a handful of states passed legislation to expand "reproductive services." For example, California was the first state in more than seven years to pass a law to expand access to abortion.

Based on these statistics, abortion clinic workers should start looking for new jobs in 2014.