(LifeSiteNews) — No babies were killed through abortion in Indiana in August 2023, according to a new estimate from the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute.
The think tank’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study relies on reports from abortionists and abortion facilities.
“Guttmacher’s latest data show that this total ban resulted in an estimated zero abortions provided within the formal health care system in Indiana for the month of August, compared with almost 700 abortions in July,” the group reported in a November 7 release.
A law that prohibited about 90% of abortions went into effect in mid-August, but abortionists had stopped committing abortions on August 1 “due to legal uncertainty,” according to the Guttmacher Institute. The law prohibits all abortions except those sought due to rape or incest during the first 10 weeks or “substantial and irreversible physical impairment” of the mother’s health. It also bans abortion facilities, meaning preborn babies can only be killed in hospitals.
Pro-lifers stress, however, that no abortion is medically necessary and a preborn baby’s right to life is not predicated on the circumstances of his or her conception.
The law allows for the killing of preborn babies if the preborn child “suffers from an irremediable medical condition that is incompatible with sustained life outside the womb” up to 20 weeks, as previously reported by LifeSiteNews.
Guttmacher noted several limitations that could give pro-lifers some pause about seeing the estimate as a victory.
“The three states bordering Indiana where abortion remains legal (Illinois, Michigan and Ohio) all had increases in the number of abortions in August compared with July, but it is unclear to what extent these increases reflect seasonal fluctuations in pregnancies, more abortions obtained by residents of those states, or increased travel from Indiana or other states with an abortion ban,” the group reported.
It also mentioned that some women could have “self-manage[d] their abortion,” a euphemism for dangerous toilet bowl abortions, induced by taking drugs.
President Joe Biden has sought to make the dangerous drugs widely available online and through pharmacies, despite federal law prohibiting the mailing of abortion pills. However, recent data shows that birth rates have risen in states that have restricted abortion since the reversal of Roe v. Wade and that many women in those states likely have not resorted to “self-managed” abortions, such as with illegal pills.
Other states have seen similar decreases in reported abortions following their bans or restrictions, including Kentucky and North Carolina.