This week the Arkansas Department of Health released its reports on abortions performed in the state during 2014. We’ve already written about some of the statistics from this year’s reports.
According to the reports, for the first time since 2006 the number of abortions performed in Arkansas went up last year, with 4,273 abortions performed in 2014. That’s an increase of 541 abortions–unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected; despite being on a downward trend, abortion totals fluctuate from year to year.
In reading the report, we noticed something interesting: The number of abortions performed on Arkansans last year (i.e. on women who reside in Arkansas) increased only slightly–from 3,205 in 2013 to 3,332 in 2014–while the number of abortions performed on women from out-of-state increased dramatically–from 527 in 2013 to 941 in 2014.
In other words, much of the increase in abortion in 2014 was due to women from other states obtaining abortions in Arkansas.
What’s more, as we looked at abortion data going back to the year 2000, we discovered that roughly 15% of the abortions performed in Arkansas were actually on women from out-of-state, and 1 in 5 women who had an abortion in Arkansas in 2014 was from out-of-state. Here is the data:
| Year | Total Abortions | Arkansans | Out-of-State | % Arkansans | % Other |
| 2000 | 5,501 | 4,548 | 953 | 83% | 17% |
| 2001 | 5,924 | 4,981 | 943 | 84% | 16% |
| 2002 | 5,316 | 4,511 | 805 | 85% | 15% |
| 2003 | 5,408 | 4,582 | 826 | 85% | 15% |
| 2004 | 4,644 | 3,835 | 808 | 83% | 17% |
| 2005 | 4,695 | 4,062 | 633 | 87% | 13% |
| 2006 | 4,988 | 4,292 | 696 | 86% | 14% |
| 2007 | 4,844 | 4,132 | 712 | 85% | 15% |
| 2008 | 4,789 | 4,054 | 735 | 85% | 15% |
| 2009 | 4,580 | 3,960 | 620 | 86% | 14% |
| 2010 | 4,532 | 3,937 | 595 | 87% | 13% |
| 2011 | 4,033 | 3,523 | 510 | 87% | 13% |
| 2012 | 3,782 | 3,361 | 421 | 89% | 11% |
| 2013 | 3,732 | 3,205 | 527 | 86% | 14% |
| 2014 | 4,273 | 3,332 | 941 | 78% | 22% |
| Total | 71,041 | 60,315 | 10,725 | 85% | 15% |
Abortion Trends Over Time
Since reaching peak levels in the 1990’s, abortion in Arkansas has been on a downward trend. And while the numbers fluctuate from year to year, abortion in Arkansas has remained relatively low over the past decade.
Charting the number of abortions performed in Arkansas since 2000, a clear, downward trend is apparent:
Not surprisingly, when we look at the number of abortions performed on Arkansans each year, the numbers follow the same downward trend:
However, the number of abortions performed on women who are not Arkansas residents has been on the rise since 2012:
In fact, in 2014 more than 1 in 5 abortions performed in Arkansas were on women from out-of-state. That’s the highest percentage since the Department of Health began publishing these statistics in 2000.
Looking at the Past Five Years
| State | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | Total |
| Louisiana | 11 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 24 | 77 |
| Texas | 24 | 28 | 21 | 25 | 44 | 142 |
| Oklahoma | 104 | 75 | 56 | 53 | 42 | 330 |
| Missouri | 152 | 110 | 84 | 87 | 57 | 490 |
| Mississippi | 112 | 87 | 92 | 122 | 217 | 630 |
| Tennessee | 169 | 174 | 138 | 207 | 542 | 1,230 |
Looking at reports from 2010 – 2014, we see women from many different states have had abortions in Arkansas. The top states on the list are Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.
Comparing 2014 to 2013, we see the number of women from Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Tennessee obtaining abortions in Arkansas has been on the rise, with Tennessee showing the sharpest increase.
Overall, 13% of the abortions performed in Arkansas in 2014 were performed on women from Tennessee; another 9% were performed on women from other states; only 78% of the abortions performed in Arkansas in 2014 were actually performed on Arkansans.
No Simple Answer
Even though the number of abortions increased, 2014 was still the fourth-lowest year for abortion in Arkansas since 1978. What’s more, the number of abortions performed on women from Arkansas rose relatively little; the increase in abortion was largely the result of women from neighboring states obtaining abortions in Arkansas.
What’s clear is that women from other states–particularly Tennessee–came to Arkansas for abortions in 2014. What is not clear is why.
It’s not uncommon for the Health Department to note an occasional abortion in Arkansas on a woman who resides in a distant state; presumably these abortions are performed on women who are in Arkansas temporarily.
However, more than 900 women from neighboring states obtained abortions in Arkansas in 2014 alone. It seems unlikely they all were students or temporary workers living in Arkansas.
What’s more, a simple Google search reveals there are abortion clinics in Memphis–right on the Tennessee/Arkansas border–so it seems unlikely women in Tennessee are seeking abortions in Arkansas due to a lack of “access” in their state.
It also seems unlikely that abortion is somehow less restricted in Arkansas than in Tennessee. In 2014, Tennessee was working to overcome anti-life court decisions; a ruling by its state supreme court had determined the Tennessee Constitution guaranteed a “right” to an abortion–something Tennessee voters did not repeal until last November–and Tennessee’s laws concerning late term abortions were fairly comparable to those on the books in Arkansas.
The statistics in the Health Department’s Reports reveal Arkansas is an “exporter” of abortion to neighboring states, but they do not shed any light on why that is the case. That’s a question our state officials might seriously want to consider.
