Photo Credit: Nadzeya Haroshka

The following is a summary of “Association of Reproductive Access Restrictions and Out-of-State Abortion Care in Colorado, an Interrupted Time Series Analysis for 2018-2024,” published in the May 2025 issue of American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology by DeBie et al.

Abortion access in the United States underwent major legal shifts following the 2021 Texas SB8 law and the 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess monthly abortion trends in Colorado by resident status before and after abortion access restrictions, adjusting for overall time-based patterns.

They used monthly induced abortion count data from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE) spanning 2018 to 2024 and applied interrupted time series analysis to examine how federal and state legal changes influenced out-of-state abortion travel to Colorado. A secondary analysis concentrated on Texas residents. Quasi-Poisson time series regression was employed, adjusting for time with linear trends and harmonic terms to account for seasonal variation.

The results showed that out-of-state individuals were over twice as likely to seek abortion care in Colorado after the Dobbs decision [Rate Ratio (RR): 2.14; 95% CI: 1.54–2.99; P<0.001], while Texas residents were over 7 times more likely to travel following SB8 enactment [RR: 7.86; 95% CI: 3.30–20.09; P<0.001]. Despite a gradual decline after initial surges, travel rates have not returned to pre-policy levels, suggesting a lasting shift in abortion access behavior post-legal changes.

Investigators concluded that legal changes at the federal and state levels significantly increased abortion-related travel to Colorado, with sustained elevated levels suggesting a lasting shift in care access patterns.

Source: ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(25)00303-5/abstract