WASHINGTON, D.C. — Over half of abortions in the United States in 2020 were carried out using abortion pills, according to a new study from the Guttmacher Institute.
Guttmacher, which supports abortion rights, found that in 2020, the two-pill medication abortion authorized in the United States for pregnancies up to 10 weeks gestation made up 54 percent of all abortions, according to preliminary data.
According to the report from the Guttmacher Institute, 2020 is the first time medication abortion "crossed the threshold to become the majority of all abortions and it is a significant jump from 39% in 2017, when Guttmacher last reported these data."
The data comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released findings that showed nearly 80 percent of all abortions occurred before 10 weeks' gestation.
With medication abortions increasing, some states have moved to ban or severely limit the medical procedure. According to the New York Times, 19 states have banned telemedicine visits for medication abortions and "16 state legislatures have introduced bills to ban or limit medication abortion."
Florida's legislature is currently considering a 15-week abortion ban for the state and a vote could come on the plan in the coming days.
Abortion could be one of the more important topics as the mid-term Congressional elections take place in November. The Supreme Court is expected to decide on whether to roll back abortion rights, or end them completely by overturning Roe v Wade, the decision that legalized abortions.
