
CV NEWS FEED // A pro-life researcher at the Charlotte Lozier Institute is disputing claims made by a new pro-abortion advocacy organization that the total number of abortions per month has risen since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022.
The researcher, Michael New, a senior associate scholar and assistant professor of social research at the Catholic University of America stated in a May 22 article from The Christian Post that estimates made by The Society of Family Planning (SFP)’s recently released #WeCount report.
SFP claims that despite nationwide post-Dobbs abortion restrictions, the average number of abortions performed per month has risen to 86,000, far exceeding reported statistics before the ruling.
SFP estimates that there were between 87,600 and 92,640 abortions performed per month from October to December in 2023 and that 17,000 of those were chemical abortions accessed via telehealth appointments.
In response, New is calling SFP’s credibility into question, pointing out that before 2022, the pro-abortion group “didn’t have any experience estimating the number of abortions committed in the United States,” according to The Christian Post.
“It should also be noted that they are not counting all abortions, but estimating the total number from a sample,” New said, adding: “This could lead to a miscount. Future data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Guttmacher should provide a more accurate estimate of the number of abortions that are actually taking place.”
Citing recent data from three separate analyses of birth rates in Texas, New asserts that pro-life laws post-Dobbs are saving “thousands of lives.” The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHS) reported in 2023 that there were just three “medically necessary” abortions performed in the state in August 2022.
In addition, New pointed out that, according to data from 2023, states with more liberal abortion policies have reported larger declines in births than states with conservative pro-life policies.
What the data shows, according to New, is an increase in telehealth abortions, including those authorized by medical professionals in states with shield laws, which protect clinicians who provide telehealth abortion access in states where unborn children are given legal rights.
