• Posted November 27, 2024

U.S. Abortion Numbers Dipped Slightly in 2022

The rate and number of abortions among U.S. women took a slight dip in 2022 compared to 2021, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In late June of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that since 1973 had legalized abortion nationwide. Many states quickly imposed full or partial bans on abortion.

The latest CDC numbers on abortion -- involving 46 states, the District of Columbia and New York City -- found a 2% drop in total abortions recorded, from 622,108 in 2021 to 613,383 in 2022, according to a team led by CDC investigator Stephanie Ramer.

There was also a concurrent 3% drop in the rate of abortions -- from 11.6 abortions for every 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 in 2021 to 11.2 a year later.

The CDC team didn't offer up theories as to whether the high court's Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade played any role in the decline.

It did note that the 2022 numbers continued an ongoing trend of fewer abortions among American women. 

"From 2013 to 2022, the total number of reported abortions decreased 5% ... [and] the abortion rate decreased 10%," Ramer's group wrote. 

Some other 2022 statistics from the new report:

• Women in their 20s accounted for more than half (56.5%) of abortions, and the 2021-2022 decline in abortions was most pronounced among this age group.

• Most (78.6%) abortions were performed at or before the ninth week of pregnancy, "and nearly all (92.8%) were performed at or before 13 weeks' gestation."

• Medication abortion at or before the ninth week of pregnancy is now the leading form of abortion, comprising 53.3% of cases, followed by surgical abortions performed at or before 13 weeks (35.5%).

Ramer's team noted that medication abortion (typically a combination of misoprostol and mifepristone) rose in use by about 4% between 2021 and 2022.  That follows a long-term trend, with medication abortions rising 129% between 2013 and 2022.

The authors note that there's been an "accumulation of evidence on the safety and effectiveness of medication abortion" during that time.

States report to the CDC with annual abortion numbers on a voluntary basis; the researchers note that in 2022 California, Maryland, New Hampshire and New Jersey did not report their numbers. Together, those states comprise about 20% of abortions nationwide, so the absence of that data is a big limitation of the new report.

The new findings were published Nov. 27 in the CDC journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

More information

Find out more about medication abortion at the Guttmacher Institute.

SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Nov. 27, 2024