The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its first major report on abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Researchers found the number of abortions dropped 2% in 2022, making it not much different from the years before. Preliminary data shows abortions actually went up in 2023.
The CDC found U.S. providers performed more than 613,000 abortions in 2022, only slightly down from the nearly 626,000 abortions performed in 2021. But in 2023, more than a million abortions were recorded in the U.S., according to a new report from the Guttmacher Institute. It’s the highest number the research and policy organization has recorded in a decade.
There are some caveats to this data. The CDC’s report offers an incomplete look at abortion in the United States because not every state reports abortion data to the CDC. The Guttmacher Institute does include all 50 states in its report.
Overall, though, reports show the vast majority of abortions took place before nine weeks of pregnancy.
Research also shows that expanded access to the abortion pill has played a big role in these numbers. A pandemic-era change made by the Food and Drug Administration allowed for the pills to be dispensed via telemedicine. In the wake of the ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, eight states passed laws protecting providers from being sued for prescribing abortion pills virtually to people from other states.
Despite the overall national picture, however, both the CDC and the Guttmacher Institute found abortion rates dramatically declined in states that enacted near-total bans after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Meanwhile, states that have become known as “abortion havens” have seen numbers rise significantly.
