Abortion in Delaware is legal up to the point of fetal viability.[1] 55% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal and 38% stated it should be illegal in all or most cases. There was a therapeutic exceptions in the state's legislative ban on abortions by 1900. Informed consent laws were on the books by 2007. In 2017, Senator Bryan Townsend, D-Newark introduced legislation to try to make clear that abortion would remain legal in the state in case 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned. The legislation was subsequently updated. Attempts have been made to introduce mandatory ultrasound laws, but they failed to get out of committee. State legislators tried to move ahead the week at which a woman could get a legal abortion in 2019.

There were seven abortion clinics in 1982, eight in 1992 and three in 2014.  There were 2,920 legal abortions in the state in 2014 and 2,889 in 2015. The state had an active abortion rights community in 2019, participating in #StoptheBans movement with a protest at Rodney Square in Wilmington.

History

Legislative history

By the end of the 1800s, all states in the Union except Louisiana had therapeutic exceptions in their legislative bans on abortions.[2] In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens.[2]

The state was one of ten states in 2007 to have a customary informed consent provision for abortions.[3] A Republican legislative member introduced an abortion ban at week 20 in 2017.  The Democratic controlled legislature prevented this bill from even reaching a floor vote.[4] In 2017, Senator Bryan Townsend, D-Newark introduced legislation to try to make clear that abortion would remain legal in the state in case 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned (which it was in 2022.[5][6]) Townsend said of Republican legislative efforts at the time in relation to his own bill, "They talk about the issue as if it is not a complicated, difficult, heart-wrenching one for women."[4] The state legislature updated Delaware's legal code in 2017 around abortion.  It now read, "the termination of a pregnancy prior to viability, to protect the life or health of the mother, or in the event of serious fetal anomaly."[7][8]

In August 2018, the state had a law to protect the right to have an abortion.[9] Senator Bryant Richardson (R-Seaford) introduced an ultrasound before getting an abortion bill in 2018, but it did not get out of committee.[4] In Senate District 21, Democrat Bob Wheatley sought to oust Richardson in elections on November 6, 2018, in part related to Richardson's abortion stance.[4]

In early 2019, a bill had been introduced as was being debated over when abortion should be banned.  New proposed legislation would move the date to 20 weeks.  At the time it was being discussed, it looked like it would not be likely to pass.[7][10] As of May 14, 2019, the state prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling.[11] Bryant Richardson introduced a bill in 2019 that would have required women seeking abortions to have the required legal option to have non-medically necessitated ultrasound to see the fetal "heartbeat".  According to Richardson, this bill, "It gives women all the information that's available to make a good decision. [...] It's all about women's rights."[4]

Judicial history

The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.[2] However, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392, 597 U.S. ___ (2022) later in 2022.[5][6]

Clinic history

Number of abortion clinics in Delaware by year

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state increased by one, going from seven in 1982 to eight in 1992.[12] In 2014, there were three abortion clinics in the state.[13] In 2014, 33% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 18% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[9] In March 2016, there were three Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.[14] In 2017, there were three Planned Parenthood clinics in a state with a population of 212,554 women aged 15–49 of which two offered abortion services.[15] In 2018, first-trimester abortions in the state generally cost around US$500.[4]

Statistics

In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero recorded illegal abortion deaths in the state.[16] In 1990, 80,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[12] In 2010, the state had one publicly funded abortion, which was federally funded.[17] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were 80 abortions, 230 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 130 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 20 abortions for women of all other races.[18] In 2014, 55% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal and 38% said it should be illegal in all or most cases.[19] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.[20]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996[21]
Census division and stateNumberRate % change 1992–1996
199219951996199219951996
South Atlantic269,200261,990263,60025.924.624.7–5
Delaware5,7305,7904,09035.234.424.1–32
District of Columbia21,32021,09020,790138.4151.7154.512
Florida84,68087,50094,0503030327
Georgia39,68036,94037,3202421.221.1–12
Maryland31,26030,52031,31026.425.626.30
North Carolina36,18034,60033,55022.42120.2–10
South Carolina12,19011,0209,94014.212.911.6–19
Virginia35,02031,48029,94022.72018.9–16
West Virginia3,1403,0502,6107.77.66.6–14
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates
LocationResidenceOccurrence % obtained by
out-of-state residents		 YearRef
No.Rate^Ratio^^No.Rate^Ratio^^
Delaware 5,730 35.2 1992 [21]
Delaware 5,790 34.4 1995 [21]
Delaware 4,090 24.1 1996 [21]
Delaware2,92016.22662,93716.3268162014[22]
Delaware2,889162592,78515.4249152015[23]
Delaware 2,517 14.0 229 2,170 12.1 197 12.8 2016 [24]
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births

Abortion rights views and activities

Views

Network Delaware's Reproductive Justice Campaign's Shané Darby at a protest in May 2019, "Anti-abortion laws are a direct attack on women. [...] Especially women that are economically disadvantaged and women of color. Anything to do with our reproductive system is health care. Our health care should be legal, safe and affordable."[25]

Protests

Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.[26][25] At the protest at Rodney Square in Wilmington, dozens of people participated, carrying signs saying things like "Abortion is health care", "My choice, my right", and "We won't go back. Government, stay out of women's bodies."[25] Speakers included Network Delaware's Reproductive Justice Campaign's Shané Darby.[25]

Anti-abortion views and activities

Violence

On January 3, 2020, a high school student, Samuel Gulick, spray-painted "Deus Vult" on a clinic in Newark, Delaware before throwing a Molotov Cocktail at the front window. Gulick was sentenced to 26 months in prison by a federal judge.[27]

Footnotes

    References

    1. ↑ "Where Can I Get an Abortion? | U.S. Abortion Clinic Locator". www.abortionfinder.org. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
    2. 1 2 3 Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66 (6): 1774–1831. PMID 11652642.
    3. ↑ "State Policy On Informed Consent for Abortion" (PDF). Guttmacher Policy Review. Fall 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "As states like Alabama effectively ban abortion, where does Delaware stand?". delawareonline. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
    5. 1 2 de Vogue, Arinne (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade". CNN. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
    6. 1 2 Howe, Amy (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns constitutional right to abortion". SCOTUSblog. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
    7. 1 2 "Are there *any* states working to protect abortion rights?". Well+Good. 2019-05-17. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
    8. ↑ "Bill Detail - Delaware General Assembly". legis.delaware.gov. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
    9. 1 2 Panetta, Grace; lee, Samantha (2018-08-04). "This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell". Business Insider (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
    10. ↑ "As states like Alabama effectively ban abortion, where does Delaware stand?". delawareonline. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
    11. ↑ Lai, K. K. Rebecca (2019-05-15). "Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
    12. 1 2 Arndorfer, Elizabeth; Michael, Jodi; Moskowitz, Laura; Grant, Juli A.; Siebel, Liza (December 1998). A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 9780788174810.
    13. ↑ Gould, Rebecca Harrington, Skye. "The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    14. ↑ Bohatch, Emily. "27 states with the most Planned Parenthood clinics". thestate. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
    15. ↑ "Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood". Retrieved 2019-05-23.
    16. ↑ Cates, Willard; Rochat, Roger (March 1976). "Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974". Family Planning Perspectives. 8 (2): 86–92. doi:10.2307/2133995. JSTOR 2133995. PMID 1269687.
    17. ↑ "Guttmacher Data Center". data.guttmacher.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
    18. ↑ "No. of abortions among women aged 15–19, by state of residence, 2013 by racial group". Guttmacher Data Center. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
    19. ↑ "Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics". Pew Research Center. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
    20. ↑ "States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
    21. 1 2 3 4 "Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996". Guttmacher Institute. 2005-06-15. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
    22. ↑ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2017). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2014". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 66 (24): 1–48. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6624a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 29166366.
    23. ↑ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2018). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2015". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 67 (13): 1–45. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6713a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 30462632.
    24. ↑ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2019). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 68 (11): 1–41. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 31774741.
    25. 1 2 3 4 "National abortion debate resonates in Delaware at #StopTheBans rally". delawareonline. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
    26. ↑ Bacon, John. "Abortion rights supporters' voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
    27. ↑ "Man Sentenced for Hurling Molotov Cocktail at Newark Planned Parenthood". Department of Justice. March 10, 2022.
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