State restrictions on abortions slow in 2012, but still second most ever

A new Guttmacher Institute report finds that the number of new abortion restrictions passed by states in 2012 was down from 2011, but that the year still saw the second most new rules on the procedure ever.

Politico Pro: Report: 2012 Near Top For Anti-Abortion Rules
Forty-three provisions of new laws in 19 states set out to restrict access to abortion, according to the report, out of 122 total provisions related to reproductive health enacted in 42 states and the District of Columbia during the year. And more than half of those restrictions came from just six states. Arizona topped the charts with a total of seven anti-abortion restrictions. The others were Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin, which all had at least three (Smith, 1/2).

The Hill: Study: New Abortion Restrictions Dropped In 2012
The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, found that states sought to restrict the practice with 43 new laws in 2012. That number is less than half of the restrictions passed at the state level in 2011. ... 2011 was considered a banner year for opponents of abortion rights after Republicans took control of statehouses across the country (Viebeck, 1/2).

And governors in Michigan and Virginia rang in 2013 by signing new abortion restrictions --

Politico Pro: Two Governors OK Anti-Abortion Measures Over Holidays
As the nation celebrated the holidays, governors in Michigan and Virginia approved sweeping abortion restrictions that could spell the end of many abortion clinics in both states. In Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder signed H.B. 5711, an "omnibus" bill of many abortion measures rolled into one, the Friday before the New Year's holiday. On the same day in Virginia, Gov. Bob McDonnell signed off on strict construction regulations for abortion providers in his state (Smith, 1/2).