Southern residents flocked to Florida in 2023 for abortion, data shows

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Before Florida’s abortion bans got stricter and upheld in court, in 2023, residents in the American South flocked to the state for abortions.

According to new data estimates from Guttmacher, states where people by-and-large traveled from include South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

Florida’s total share of abortions that occurred from travelers also doubled from 5% to around 11% from 2020 to 2023, the estimates found.

For all of 2023, over 85,000 abortions were conducted in Florida, the data says.

The 15-week abortion ban, passed in 2022, was undergoing court challenges for months.

Then, in 2023, lawmakers approved the Heartbeat Protection Act, which takes effect at six weeks – which couldn’t take effect until the Supreme Court of Florida upheld the original 15-week law.

That decision took place in April, and the stricter ban was then able to take effect May 1.

Now, Florida has joined the list of states with severely restrictive abortion laws actually in effect, and is likely to join other southern states where residents who seek abortions past six weeks have to travel.

However, voters have a chance to constitutionally protect the right to an abortion through “viability” with a November ballot initiative, opposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican Party of Florida.

Polls have signified the amendment could pass, requiring 60% of the vote in order to do so.

Most recently, the data said that in March, just under 8,000 abortions were performed in Florida, before the court upheld restrictions.