While legislators across the country introduced fewer abortion-restricting bills in the first three months of this year than last year, a study put out by a sexual health advocacy group shows a significant increase over the past decade.

In the first three months of the year, legislators in 45 out of the 46 Legislatures that convened introduced 944 provisions dealing with reproductive health and rights, of which more than half restrict access to abortion, according to a report released earlier this month by the Guttmacher Institute, a sexual health research group.

Since the beginning of 2012, 75 abortion restriction acts were approved by at least one chamber in state Legislatures throughout the country, the report said. Nine of these restrictions have already been enacted.

In 2011, 127 abortion restrictions were approved by at least one legislative body, the report said.

Guttmacher Institute spokesperson Rebecca Wind said this is not unusual in an election year since some state Legislatures do not meet every session, and there are fewer state Legislatures meeting this year.

However, in the last election cycle in 2010, 46 restrictions passed at least one legislative chamber during the first three months of the year, while in the 2008 election cycle only 34 passed, according to the report.

Wisconsin is among the states that passed abortions restrictions. Earlier this month, Gov. Scott Walker signed into law a bill requiring doctors intending to prescribe a drug that medically induces abortion must examine the woman in person and be in the room when the drug is administered.

The law was set in place to ensure women are not being coerced against their will into seeking abortions, Wisconsin Right to Life Executive Director Barbara Lyons said.

“There are often similar stories about women being strong-armed by parents or boyfriends into getting an abortion,” Lyons said. “[The girls] hear ‘you will do this or else,’ and that is coercion.”

Six other states have passed laws similar to the one in Wisconsin, Lyons said. She said other laws up for debate would ban abortion after a certain number of weeks or require women to get an ultrasound before making a final decision on whether to terminate the pregnancy.

However, the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws Pro-Choice Wisconsin Executive Director Lisa Subeck said these pieces of legislation are less about protecting women and more about making abortion access more difficult for them, especially the act requiring doctors to be present when administering an abortion-inducing pill.

“[The law] goes against standard medical care and interferes with doctors’ ability to practice,” Subeck said. “We really saw this happen with Planned Parenthood.”

Subeck was referencing Planned Parenthood’s recent decision to stop administering medication-based abortions in response to the signing of the legislation into the act.

Due to the “vague” language in the act, Subeck said Planned Parenthood risks lawsuits, and doctors of the organization could be charged with felonies if they fail to properly comply with the act.

Wisconsin and other states’ recent regulations on abortion are linked to a larger political picture, Subeck said.

“I certainly think that the war on women will play a big role in the national election,” Subeck said. “Women paying attention will see that Republicans are not good for them … not good for them, their daughters and their families.”