--- description: A new study in medical journal JAMA suggests that "rape exceptions fail to provide reasonable access to abortion for survivors." title: Rape Led to 64,000 Pregnancies in States With Abortion Bans image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5537b3b35e35ad0/698a442b47ca382d3a3bb881/roevswade.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [abortion](/tag/abortion/) ## abortion Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Rape Led to 64,000 Pregnancies in 14 U.S. States With Abortion Bans, Study Says ## Video: Ohio Votes to Protect Abortion Access in Major Statewide Victory for Reproductive Rights [Watch (HLS stream): Ohio Votes to Protect Abortion Access in Major Statewide Victory for Reproductive Rights](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8se1aNAL.m3u8) (1:52)  _Published 2023-11-08. A crowd of abortion rights supporters cheered as the news dropped that Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment that guarantees the right to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care._ by [Mallory Moench](/author/mallory-moench/) ## Mallory Moench Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Updated: Jan 19, 2026 10:55 AM CUTPublished: Jan 25, 2024 3:07 PM CUT  Anti and pro abortion protesters hold up signs at a rally in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme court overturned the federal constitutional right to an abortion. Anti and pro abortion protesters hold up signs at a rally in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme court overturned the federal constitutional right to an abortion.Michael Siluk-UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images by [Mallory Moench](/author/mallory-moench/) ## Mallory Moench Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Updated: Jan 19, 2026 10:55 AM CUTPublished: Jan 25, 2024 3:07 PM CUT Rape resulted in 64,565 pregnancies in 14 U.S. states with near-total abortion bans since _Roe v. Wade_ was overturned in June 2022, according to a new peer-reviewed study published online Wednesday in medical journal [_JAMA_](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2814274 "undefined"). “In this cross-sectional study, thousands of girls and women in states that banned abortion experienced rape-related pregnancy, but few (if any) obtained in-state abortions legally, suggesting that rape exceptions fail to provide reasonable access to abortion for survivors,” the researchers wrote. The authors, who noted there is no reliable state-level data on rapes, analyzed multiple data sources to estimate reported and unreported rapes. The study used national rape data from the[ U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/datasources/nisvs/index.html "undefined"), adjusted for survivors of reproductive age using Bureau of Justice Statistics and for those who experienced vaginal rape using previous research, and apportioned for each state based on [Federal Bureau of Investigation rape statistics](https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/rape "undefined") from local jurisdictions. They also referenced [previous research](https://cdn.jamanetwork.com/ama/content%5Fpublic/journal/intemed/0/ild240001supp1%5Fprod%5F1705535449.84204.pdf?Expires=1709206244&Signature=KfMI4lr-SnL3wfUwkYrcQpYMyCuWqVr13kngNCj47hkSW6S5iQxBZgqnEw9fgIyN75jumVCM6niP9umR58DgQCx~NbUpSPmO93rdBKps0R1vh~leAUhBxYK7hUaSVR03BelVvalJSDEZxCd3qfuRCnoyVE9IDT99e49PfEs7rxd0dHZcV3ia~QdmHC10KaV0tMKyM49aeXn83144ScROiwhXw5W7Yk~o2tbpc0QNUs8nZNqF~7WagC285pVTPf0uKqcguZg7K~EUD6jTcN2JPfHtiM3VtqffRJPqO-jgcyiEhUatJylY7OtXw24M19OtaMkVuANrgTtP5qIdIVTf2g%5F%5F&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA "undefined") on the prevalence of pregnancy resulting from rape. The study did not look at how many of those pregnancies resulted in birth. But researchers pointed [to a previous report that showed ](https://societyfp.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/WeCountReport%5F10.16.23.pdf "undefined")10 or fewer legal abortions were reported per month in each of those states. The authors said in their research report that the data “indicates that persons who have been raped and become pregnant cannot access legal abortions in their home state, even in states with rape exceptions.” The study reported an estimated 519, 981 rapes associated with 64,565 pregnancies in states that ban abortion after conception during the four to 18 months after the bans went into effect. Of those pregnancies, 58,979 occurred in states with no exception for rape. ### More From TIME Nine of the 14 states the study looked at have a total abortion ban with no exception in the case of rape. In the remaining five states of Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, West Virginia, and North Dakota, survivors must report those crimes to the police to be able to access abortion services. National [research in 2022 ](https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/cv22.pdf "undefined")showed only 21% of victims do, the study notes. **Read More:** [_She Wasn’t Able to Get an Abortion. Now She’s a Mom. Soon She’ll Start 7th Grade_](https://time.com/6303701/a-rape-in-mississippi/ "undefined") The Supreme Court’s 2022 _Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization_ ruling ended the constitutional right to abortion across America that the landmark _Roe v. Wade_ 1973 ruling guaranteed. The study was authored by five doctors and one public health researcher, who disclosed their conflicts of interests. The lead author, Dr. Samuel Dickman, is the medical director of Planned Parenthood Montana, an abortion and reproductive health provider, and a[ plaintiff in multiple cases challenging the state’s abortion laws](https://reproductiverights.org/case/planned-parenthood-all-families-blue-mountain-dickman-weems-v-montana/ "undefined"). Another author, Kari White, received grants from [abortion and contraception science](https://societyfp.org/ "undefined") research groups including the Society for Family Planning and the [Collaborative for Gender and Reproductive Equity](https://cgre.org/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6588425/rape-pregnancy-us-abortion-bans/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6588425/rape-pregnancy-us-abortion-bans/"},"headline":"Rape Led to 64,000 Pregnancies in 14 U.S. States With Abortion Bans, Study Says","datePublished":"2024-01-25T15:07:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T10:55:11.000Z","description":"A new study suggests rape survivors who got pregnant couldn't access legal abortions in their home state","url":"https://time.com/6588425/rape-pregnancy-us-abortion-bans/","keywords":["abortion","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5537b3b35e35ad0/698a442b47ca382d3a3bb881/roevswade.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mallory Moench","jobTitle":"Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau.","url":"https://time.com/author/mallory-moench/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5537b3b35e35ad0/698a442b47ca382d3a3bb881/roevswade.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"St. Paul, Minnesota. 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