Share of women crossing state lines for abortions increases: AP

Thousands of women in the U.S. have received an abortion in another state in recent years as certain states have passed laws restricting the practice and the number of clinics has decreased, according to an Associated Press analysis. 

At least 276,000 women got abortions outside of their home state between 2012 and 2017, the analysis of state reports and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data found. 

Abortions across the U.S. have decreased, but the share of women who had abortions outside their states rose by half a percentage point, the wire service found. 

Certain states had significant increases, particularly in parts of the Midwest, South and Mountain West. {mosads}

New Mexico’s share of abortions for out of state women increased from 11 percent to about 25 percent, while Illinois’s share more than doubled to 16.5 percent, according to the AP.

The analysis found that 13 states out of 41 states reviewed saw an increase in abortions for out of state women during the period. The analysis did not include figures from nine states, including Florida and California, as well as Washington, D.C., because they were either not collected or not reported during the entirety of the six years. 

The AP, citing statistics from the Abortion Care Network, also noted that 168 abortion clinics have closed since 2012 and that only a few opened. 

A series of states this year passed laws limiting abortions. Alabama, for example passed a law that banned nearly all abortions.