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As state legislatures debate 300 new bills to further restrict women's constitutional right to legal and safe abortions, media should know that abortion is already restricted in the U.S. at unprecedented levels, that experts say it is medically unnecessary to require clinics to obtain hospital admitting privileges and adopt surgical center standards, and that limited access to abortions severely harms low-income women.
State Lawmakers Propose 300 New Bills Restricting Abortions
CBS News: During The 2012 State Legislative Session, "Lawmakers Proposed More Than 300 Bills That Would Have Restricted Abortions." CBS News reported that according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), state lawmakers across the country introduced more than 300 bills restricting abortion during the 2012 legislative session. Some of the restrictions were set to go into effect beginning July 2013, while others are still under debate:
Nationally, state lawmakers proposed more than 300 bills that would have restricted abortions, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. At least 13 state legislatures passed new limits, though two are waiting for governors to sign off. Notably, a bill that would have closed almost every abortion clinic in Texas was dramatically defeated by a Democratic filibuster and a restless crowd in late June. The Texas governor, however, has ordered another special legislative session to push the bill through. North Dakota has passed the nation's strictest abortion law, which takes effect in August, banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. [CBSNews.com, 7/1/13]
1. FACT: Since 2010, States Have Passed A Record Number Of Restrictions On Abortion
Bloomberg Businessweek: After 2010, "Lawmakers In 24 States Passed A Record 92 Provisions That Restrict Access To Abortion Services." Bloomberg Businessweek reported that anti-choice groups have made "unprecedented headway at the state level" in restricting abortions:
Under the Obama administration, abortion rights proponents have won significant battles on the national level, fighting back attempts to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood and eliminate the Affordable Care Act's requirement that most health plans cover contraception free of charge. But abortion foes have made unprecedented headway at the state level. After Republican gains in statehouses in the 2010 midterm elections, lawmakers in 24 states passed a record 92 provisions that restrict access to abortion services, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which researches and compiles data on reproductive health. That's nearly triple the old record set in 2005 and a sixfold increase over 1985.
Abortion providers say the laws have made their business more arduous and sliced into their earnings. By 2008, the latest year for which Guttmacher has data, the number of providers, which includes doctors' offices and hospitals, had fallen 38 percent from their 1982 peak, to 1,793. [Bloomberg Businessweek, 1/17/13]
NBC News: After 2011, 2012 Was Second-Highest Year On Record For New Abortion Restrictions Since 1985. NBC News reported that in 2012, "19 states enacted a total of 43 provisions limiting access to abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute. That was half the number that went into effect the previous year, but still the second-highest number since 1985":
Forty years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down many state restrictions on abortion with Roe v. Wade, women who want to terminate a pregnancy face a growing number of roadblocks in many parts of the country.
Last year, 19 states enacted a total of 43 provisions limiting access to abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute. That was half the number that went into effect the previous year, but still the second-highest number since 1985. [NBCNews.com, 1/21/13]
2. FACT: Vast Majority Of U.S. Counties Do Not Have Abortion Providers
Guttmacher Institute: 87 Percent Of U.S. Counties Have No Abortion Provider. According to research from the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research organization which works to advance reproductive health, "Eighty-seven percent of all U.S. counties lacked an abortion provider in 2008; 35% of women live in those counties." [Guttmacher Institute, August 2011]
