‘Ludicrous’: Red state doctor left gobsmacked as official data shows zero abortions

Key Takeaways:

• States with abortion bans report zero or few abortions, but experts dispute these figures.
• Medical professionals assert that abortions continue unreported due to legal fears.
• Data scientists warn of the politicization of vital statistics and unreliable data.
• Abortions persist via telehealth and other means not captured in official records.
• Misleading statistics may undermine public trust and impact future policymaking.

Abortion Statistics That Don’t Add Up

In Arkansas, where approximately 1.5 million women reside, state health officials announced a stunning statistic for 2023: zero abortions. Similar reports emerged from South Dakota, with official records also showing zero abortions that year. Idaho, embroiled in recent abortion battles reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, reported just five.

These figures have been celebrated by anti-abortion activists as a triumph of strict legislative bans. However, medical professionals and data scientists argue that these numbers are not only misleading but fundamentally dishonest.

Medical Professionals Call Claims ‘Ludicrous’

“To say there are no abortions going on in South Dakota is ludicrous,” said Dr. Amy Kelley, an OB-GYN in Sioux Falls. Citing female patients who have come to her hospital after taking abortion pills or requiring medical procedures to prevent death or address nonviable pregnancies, Kelley added, “I can think of five off the top of my head that I dealt with, and I have 15 partners.”

Practitioners like Kelley assert that abortions are still occurring, but due to legal restrictions and a culture of fear, many go unreported.

Data Scientists Raise Alarms

Ushma Upadhyay, a public health scientist at the University of California-San Francisco and co-chair of WeCount, an academic research effort tracking abortions nationwide since April 2022, described the zeroing out of abortion statistics as “so clinically dishonest.”

“We know they are sometimes necessary to save the pregnant person’s life,” Upadhyay said, emphasizing that pregnancy comes with risks requiring emergency abortion care. WeCount’s data contradicts official reports, noting an average of 240 telehealth abortions a month in Arkansas from April to June 2024, and 2,800 in Texas during the same period.

Official Numbers vs. Unreported Reality

State officials reported sharp declines after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Arkansas reported zero abortions in 2023, down from 1,621 in 2022. Texas reported 60 in 2023, a steep drop from 50,783 in 2021. Idaho’s numbers fell to five in 2023 from 1,553 in 2021.

Anti-abortion groups acknowledge that official statistics don’t capture all abortions. “Women are still seeking out abortions in Arkansas, whether it’s illegally or going out of state for illegal abortion,” admitted Rose Mimms, executive director of Arkansas Right to Life. “We’re not naive.”

A Culture of Fear and Underreporting

Practitioners operate under a cloud of confusion and fear. In South Dakota, where any doctor convicted of performing an unlawful abortion faces up to two years in prison, this fear contributes to underreporting.

“We try to make an effort to make clear that it’s not zero,” Upadhyay explained. She urged health departments to acknowledge that abortions are happening but may not be counted due to the culture of fear and legal repercussions. “Maybe that’s what they should say instead of putting a zero in their reports.”

Implications for Public Trust and Policy

The reliance on misleading statistics poses dangers, including eroding public trust and informing ill-advised legislation. “For better or worse, government data is the official record,” said Ishan Mehta, director for media and democracy at Common Cause, a nonpartisan public interest group. “You are not just reporting data. You are feeding into an ecosystem that is going to have much larger ramifications.”

Mehta warned that without accurate data, historians and policymakers will struggle to understand the true impact of significant legal changes on maternal health care. “If the state is not going to put in a little more than the bare minimum to just find out if their data is accurate or not,” he said, “we are in a very dangerous place.”

Conclusion

As states with strict abortion bans report implausible declines to zero abortions, medical professionals and data scientists call for transparency and honesty. Accurate reporting is essential not only for public trust but also for shaping informed policies that reflect the true state of reproductive health care in America.

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