Study: New abortion restrictions dropped in 2012

States passed fewer restrictions on abortion rights in 2012 compared to 2011, a record-breaking year, according to a new study.
 
The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, found that states sought to restrict the practice with 43 new laws in 2012.

That number is less than half of the restrictions passed at the state level in 2011. 

Guttmacher lamented the 2012 figure as the "second-highest number" of state laws against abortion rights ever passed in a single year, but acknowledged that it represents a "sharp decrease" from 2011.

"Against the backdrop of a contentious presidential campaign in which abortion and even contraception were front-burner issues — to a degree unprecedented in recent memory — supporters of reproductive health and rights were able to block high-profile attacks on access to abortion in states as diverse as Alabama, Idaho, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Virginia," Guttmacher wrote.

Of the restrictions enacted, seven came from Arizona, while Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin each passed at least three.

New requirements mandate waiting periods, counseling and ultrasounds that are not medically necessary prior to abortions.

Arizona, Georgia and Louisiana also enacted measures to ban abortion at 20 weeks, before fetal viability.

2011 was considered a banner year for opponents of abortion rights after Republicans took control of statehouses across the county.

Read Guttmacher's detailed tally for 2012 here.

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