The Abortion Numbers that Matter

Republicans want to make the abortion debate about numbers. Let's do it.

The conversation about abortion at the Republican presidential debate last night went exactly as expected. The candidates hyper-focused on abortions later in pregnancy, a tactic meant to paint Democrats as extremists even as Republican policies force children into pregnancy and women into sepsis. Instead of talking about the real life impact of their laws, the presidential hopefuls sparred over at what point in pregnancy it’s appropriate and politically sound to ban abortion.

As I tweeted last night, there is a reason that Republicans want to make this issue a debate about 6 weeks vs. 15 weeks: The more people are thinking about numbers, the less they’re thinking about women being forced to carry dying fetuses, or raped children and cancer patients being denied care.

But if conservatives want to make this a debate about numbers, let’s do just that. Here are the numbers I think about when I think about abortion: 

Thirteen. That’s the age of a girl in Mississippi who was forced into childbirth after being raped and impregnated. Or how about 10? That’s how old a rape victim in Ohio was when she had to leave her home state for care because the law said her small body should carry a fetus to term.

It was 14 Texas women who sued after their health and lives were endangered by the state’s abortion ban. And it was one of those women became so distressed while recounting her experience that she vomited while on the stand.

Fifteen is number of weeks into pregnancy Terry was when she found out her fetus hadn’t developed at all above the neck. Two thousand is how many dollars she had to spend to travel to New Mexico for care because Texas law said she had to give birth to a baby without a head.

There are 19 state Attorneys General who want the ability to access the medical records of women who get out-of-state abortions, and zero Mississippi doctors who will perform an abortion a rape victim despite the state having an ‘exception’.

The number of years an Idaho professor could go to prison if they say something construed as “promoting” abortion? Fourteen. How many years old the law is that Republicans want to use to outlaw mifepristone? One hundred fifty. The number of American women who would lose access if they were successful? 40 million.

I’m not done yet! Five is how many maternal fetal medicine specialists are left in Idaho. Two million is the number of American women who live in a “double desert”: a county without abortion access or maternal health care. And sixty is the percentage of medical students who say they’re unlikely to apply for a residency in an anti-abortion state.

Calls to the national domestic violence hotline have increased by 99 percent since Roe was overturned, and arsons at abortion clinics have increased by 100 percent.

I could go on for longer than you think. But let’s stop at some of the most important numbers—those that have nothing to do with 6 weeks or 15 weeks. Twenty-five percent of American women will have an abortion in their lifetime, and 60 percent of those women will already be mothers. Sixty-two percent of Americans want abortion to be legal in all or most circumstances, but 5 Supreme Court justices decided that what voters want doesn’t matter.

Given all this, last night’s eight candidates may want to rethink their strategy. Republicans can distract voters all they want, but the truth is that there’s no talking point or tactic that will dig them out of this hole. And, as hard as they try, there’s no number that can erase the post-Roe horror show.