State abortion bans lead to longer waits and higher costs for care

People in states that have banned abortion were more than twice as likely to receive them later in pregnancy, according to a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco.

The delays are primarily due to the additional time and costs associated with traveling longer distances to obtain care, according to researchers from Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) at UCSF. Delays can make abortion care more complex. 

The study appears June 26 in the American Journal of Public Health, almost three years to the date of the Supreme Court decision that ended the constitutional right to abortion.

Following the 2022 Supreme Court decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 14 states - Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin - adopted abortion bans. 

The researchers surveyed 855 people from these states between 2022 and 2024. Among the findings: 

• Second-trimester abortions increased from 8% to 17%.
• Travel time went from 2.8 hours to 11.3 hours; overnight stays increased from 5% to 58%; and travel costs went up from $179 to $372.
• After the state ban, 81% of people who contacted a clinic or call center reported traveling out of state for an abortion. Just 3% carried their unwanted pregnancy to term.

Banning abortion doesn't eliminate the need, it just forces people to travel farther and wait longer. As we mark the third anniversary of the Dobbs decision this week, it continues to be clear that abortion bans cause harm." 

Diana Greene Foster, PhD, a UCSF demographer, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, and study's senior author