South Carolina’s most vulnerable women are asking for and getting birth control in record numbers — even in parts of the state without any doctors who specialize in women’s reproductive health , according to a new report. The findings — from New Morning, a nonprofit organization based in Columbia, South Carolina, that works to provide free or low-cost contraception access in the state — stand in contrast to what’s been happening in other states that enacted abortion restrictions after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
A study in June found a decrease in prescriptions for birth control pills and emergency contraceptives in states with the most restrictions on abortion . South Carolina has one of the country’s strictest, prohibiting abortions at six weeks of pregnancy. Many women’s health centers, including abortion clinics where women had often gotten their birth control, closed after the Dobbs decision.
According to New Morning’s report, from July 2023 through this June, 88,281 women in South Carolina — a record high — accessed contraception through doctor’s offices and hospitals associated with the organization’s training program, up from 76,561 in 2022. Most of those clinics serve uninsured and underserved populations. NBC News is the first to report the group’s findings, which will be released Thursday.
New Morning attributes its success, in part, to tapping the power of primary care providers who aren’t usually trained in providing birth co.
