January 5, 2026
New Jersey’s Abortion Surge Reflects a Failure of Leadership and a Tragic Loss of Human Lives
By Marie Tasy, Executive Director, New Jersey Right to Life
A recent article in the New Jersey Monitor reported that abortions performed in New Jersey rose steadily after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
Planned Parenthood claims that the increase is largely due to out-of-state patients traveling to New Jersey. But the state does not release consistent or detailed data on patient residency, and no public evidence has been provided to back up that claim.
Without transparency, the public is simply asked to take it on faith.
What we do know is this: abortions in New Jersey rose from about 48,000 a year before 2018 to 60,000 by 2023–2024. That increase followed Governor Phil Murphy’s taking office and coincided with sweeping policy changes.
During this time, the state (a) passed extreme laws and regulations allowing abortions up to birth, (b) reduced safety requirements so that non-physicians can perform abortions, and (c) continued pouring hundreds of millions of taxpayer money into providers that perform abortions while targeting pregnancy resource centers that offer women real choices.
This increase in abortions should not be spoken of merely in terms of numbers or statistics. It is a tragic and irreversible loss of human life, each one a child who will never be born and their future forever erased.
Since 2018, more than $268 million in taxpayer funding has been directed to Planned Parenthood’s abortion business alone. On Christmas Eve—Christmas Eve! — Governor Murphy announced an additional $22 Million in taxpayer money inserted in the 2026 state budget for an Abortion Access Fund to “grow and expand” abortions in New Jersey as if he hadn’t already thrown money hand over fist at the Abortion Industry.
Outcomes change when government funding increases the number and scope of providers, provides free abortions without gestational limits, passes laws that shield and protect criminals, and declares itself an Abortion Safe haven. Whether the women obtaining abortions live in New Jersey or crossed state lines, the result is the same: far more abortions are happening here.
The surge in abortions in New Jersey is a tragic reminder that our state policies aren’t just wrong – they are perverse. It’s a number to be mourned not celebrated.
It reflects a political agenda that has failed to address the real needs of women and has instead doubled down on policies that make abortion more common, not less. In the end, it exposes an administration and party bosses who failed women by subordinating public policy to Planned Parenthood’s self-serving agenda.