Banning abortion does not stop abortion. It just changes where it happens, how it happens, when it happens, and increases the risk of the procedure. A 186-page report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine unequivocally concludes that modern, legal abortion in the United States is safe and effective. However, states that seek to limit abortion by mandating waiting periods, pre-procedure counseling, or by placing onerous restrictions on facilities that perform the procedure actually succeed not in making the procedure less frequent, but in making it less safe.

"Abortion is safer when it's performed earlier in gestation," said Dr. Hal Lawrence, CEO of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "And so delaying and making people wait and go through hoops of unnecessary, extra procedures does not improve the safety. And actually by having them delay, can actually worsen the safety."