A report published by the Institute of Labor Economics in Germany found that about 32,000 babies are born each year following the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade.
The researchers’ information came from birth data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
“Our primary analysis indicates that in the first six months of 2023, births rose by an average of 2.3 percent in states enforcing total abortion bans compared to a control group of states where abortion rights remained protected, amounting to approximately 32,000 additional annual births resulting from abortion bans,” researchers from Georgia Insitute of Technology and Middlebury College wrote.
The report stated that abortion access over the last year has drastically changed.
“As of November 1, 2023, 14 states are enforcing bans on abortion in nearly all circumstances, and 23 percent of U.S. women of reproductive age have experienced an increase in driving distance to the nearest abortion facility, from an average of 43 miles one-way before Dobbs to 330 miles at present,” the report explained. “This represents the most profound transformation of the landscape of U.S. abortion access in 50 years.”
Greater birth rates were correlated with states that require an abortion seeker to drive longer distances.
For example, Mississippi’s birth rate increased by 4.4% following the Supreme Court’s ruling, as the average driving distance to obtain an abortion was 240 miles.
Texas’ birth rate increased by 5.1%, with the average distance to an abortion clinic being 453 miles.
Three states had “less than forecasted” births: Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.
The states were among those with the “greatest reported increases to Aid Access for medications to self-manage abortion following Dobbs.”
American Faith previously reported that a Tennessee abortion ban has saved more than 10,000 babies since August 2022.
