A 50% decline has been seen in the number of abortion providers in Ohio as many restrictive laws have come in existence over the past four years. A review of records by The Associated Press has showed that the number of procedures has also seen downtrend. The added limits and obstacles from Ohio abortions are blamed by both sides for facility closures engulfing the nation’s seventh most populous state.

It has not been clearly understood if the downward trajectory in procedures is a cause or an effect of the significant decline seen in abortion access in the nation. Seven of 16 Ohio abortion providers have either faced a closure since 2011 or stopped providing abortion services, according to according to AP interviews and examinations of state licensing and business records.

Ohio comes at second position for the plunge at national front. Texas tops the list and 17 of 40 providers have stopped operating there since 2011. Virginia has also faced closedown of 20 abortion providers because of abortion laws becoming more stringent.

The numbers of induced operations in Ohio declined from 25,473 in 2012 to 23,216 in 2013. The drop was recorded to be the lowest since the state began tracking the data in 1976. Part of a decline started in the late 1990s.

Elizabeth Nash, senior state issues associate for the abortion-rights nonprofit Guttmacher Institute, said, “On abortion, for decades it has been incredibly conservative. It’s one of the states people look to, to see what the next restriction is going to look like”.

Ohio Right to Life and its allies are looking forward to introduce additional restrictions.