Since the early 1990s, the number of abortions in Virginia has been steadily declining. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the number peaked in 1981 at almost 36,000 abortions and hit a low point in 2019 with 16,000.
Jamie Lockhart at Planned Parenthood says some of that decline in recent years might reveal a lack of access to reproductive health care. "Just because numbers go down doesn't necessarily mean that's a good thing because that can also mean that people don't have the access to healthcare that they need," Lockhart argues. "And we know that there was a large drop from 2013 to 2014 as a result of the targeted regulations on abortion providers."
Some restrictions on abortions and abortion clinics were ended after Democrats took control of the General Assembly in 2020. Todd Gathje at the Family Foundation says that’s why the number of abortions in Virginia went up about 14 percent from 2019 to 2020.
"Once you remove things like the 24-hour-waiting period, the standards, the facility requirements for these abortion clinics, you're naturally going to start to see more of an uptick," Gathje argues.
The number could go up even more if Virginia becomes a destination for people who live in prohibition states. Or it could go other way if the next General Assembly puts severe restrictions or a ban on abortion in Virginia.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
