Two Years Post-Roe, Access to Abortion Eliminated, Severely Restricted Across the South

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2024

Two Years Post-Roe, Access to Abortion Eliminated, Severely Restricted Across the South

CONTACT: Planned Parenthood South Atlantic Media Office at [email protected]

RALEIGH, N.C. — Two years after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, millions of people across the South have lost their right to obtain an abortion in their home state. North Carolina and Virginia are now the only states in this region that allow access to abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before many people know they are pregnant. Despite this relative accessibility, North Carolina's abortion restrictions — including an in-person appointment requirement and a ban after 12 weeks of pregnancy — remain a significant barrier for patients seeking care.

Statement from Jenny Black, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic:

“In the two years since the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to state laws that criminalize abortion, millions of people have suffered at the hands of politicians abusing their power to control our private medical decisions. Time and again, these politicians have ignored pleas from people whose lives have been put in danger because of their state’s abortion ban amid mounting evidence that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal. Instead, they’re advancing even more oppressive bills that threaten access to birth control, IVF, and gender-affirming health care. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic will continue to do everything we can to provide quality, compassionate care, respect people’s self-determination, and give them back their lives.”

Across the country, 21 states now ban or severely restrict abortion care. 36 percent of reproductive-age women — and more transgender and non-binary people — live in one of the 17 states that have near-total bans on abortion. There were more than 171,000 patients in the United States who traveled for an abortion in 2023, and new analysis from the Center for American Progress states that the average driving times for patients traveling for an abortion have increased by 300 percent nationally. 

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