Report: 19 states passed triple the amount of abortion laws in 2011 then entire nation did in 2010

Since the beginning of this year, states around the country have enacted a total of 162 laws aimed at limiting reproductive rights and health. #

The Guttmacher Institute reports that in just 19 states, the amount of abortion laws passed this year was “more than triple the 23 [abortion-related laws] enacted in 2010.” Forty-nine percent of the 162 laws enacted “restrict access to abortion services, a sharp increase from 2010, when 26% of new laws restricted abortion.” #

Guttmacher reports that these laws are a combination of “old and new strategies.” The types of laws enacted included: counseling and waiting periods before abortions, gestational bans/fetal pain restrictions, a “heartbeat” bill in Ohio, restricting the use of chemical abortions and banning abortion coverage in health insurance exchanges created by the federal health care reform law of 2010. #

Florida was among the states that enacted a law restricting abortion coverage in the new health care exchanges. Florida was also included in the report in a list of states that enacted “deep cuts” to family planning programs. This year, the state legislature cut almost $1 million from family planning aid to local governments. #