Abortion numbers in Indiana drop amid ‘fear and uncertainty’ of possible state ban

The number of abortions being performed in Indiana has fallen significantly in advance of the implementation of the state’s abortion ban at the beginning of August, state reports showed.

Indiana, for now, remains one of a handful of states in the Midwest that does not have any major restrictions on abortion. But that is about to change, following a state Supreme Court ruling that the ban passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature last year does not violate the state constitution.

That ban is now set to take effect on the first day of next month, at which point abortion will be almost completely banned in the state. The Associated Press first reported on the falling abortion numbers.

It’s a seismic shift from last year, when the number of abortions performed in Indiana increased by 22 per cent – the numbers were boosted by patients from states like Kentucky and Ohio who travelled to the state to receive care after their home states passed bans.

Of the 9,529 abortions performed in Indiana in 2022, 1,827 people came from other states to receive care.

But the month-by-month numbers tell a somewhat different story. The monthly abortion rate dropped by a third or more in the final months of last year as the state’s abortion ban briefly took effect before it was blocked by a court order.

This year, in advance of the looming ban, the number of abortions being performed in the state has continued to fall off.

Observers believe that decline has happened in part due to the fact that people are fearful and anxious about the looming ban.

“We have seen a lot of fear and a lot of misunderstanding of patients who believe that abortion access has been restricted and isn’t available in Indiana,” Dr Amy Caldwell, an Indianapolis obstetrician who performs abortions for Planned Parenthood, said last week.

She said anxiety has increased among those who do not understand the legal battle taking place in the state.

Two of the seven clinics that provide abortions in Indiana, a Planned Parenthood facility in Indianapolis and a Whole Woman’s Health Center in South Bend, also reported performing no abortions during the first three months of the year.

The Whole Woman’s Health Center has closed, while Planned Parenthood cited staff training issues for its gap in care. That facility told the Associated Press that it is now performing abortions again.

Indiana residents may soon, however, have to travel to other states to receive abortion care.

Abortion remains legal in neighbouring Illinois and Michigan as well as Minnesota and Pennsylvania further afield. It also remains legal for the time being in Iowa, though a possible special session of the state legislature could change that later this year.

The splintering of the abortion landscape following the reversal of Roe v Wade by the Supreme Court last year has created a scenario in which certain areas of the country lack access to abortion care while the status quo in other areas has remained largely unchanged.

Every state in the southeast, for instance, has passed an abortion ban – though South Carolina’s ban for now remains blocked in court.