Record number of abortion restrictions passed in the US in 2021, Guttmacher Institute reports

Jan 1, 2022 by Jill

by Ryan Foley, Christian Post:

A pro-abortion think tank is decrying 2021 as “the worst year” for abortion rights in nearly 50 years as dozens of laws aimed at restricting access to abortion have passed at the state level in 2021.

The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research organization formerly affiliated with Planned Parenthood, released a report earlier this month titled “State Policy Trends 2021: The Worst Year for Abortion Rights in Almost Half a Century.”

The report is the latest of several Guttmacher Institute publications highlighting the passage of numerous laws at the state level this year, which the organization and other pro-choice advocates characterize as setbacks for abortion rights in the United States.

Authored by policy associate Elizabeth Nash, the report notes that “106 abortion restrictions had been enacted in 19 states” during 2021, marking “the highest total in any year since abortion rights were affirmed by the US Supreme Court in 1973.”

The number of pro-life laws passed in 2021 exceeded the previous record of 89 abortion restrictions enacted in 2011, Nash states.

In 2021, many states enacted legislation limiting abortions after a certain point in pregnancy, ranging from “heartbeat bills” restricting abortions to the first six weeks of pregnancy to the more traditional “pain-capable” bans on abortions after 20 or 24 weeks gestation.

Additional laws that took effect this year include a ban on abortions of an unborn baby based on a Down syndrome diagnosis and a similar law in Arizona that prohibits abortions of unborn babies who have genetic abnormalities.

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