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The number of abortions among American women declined by 2% between 2021 and 2022, the year the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade<\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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This continues a trend towards fewer abortions that has been ongoing for nearly a decade, CDC researchers noted<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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Medication abortions now comprise half of all abortions<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) — 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).<\/p>\n
In late June of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned<\/a> the landmark Roe v. Wade<\/em> decision that since 1973 had legalized abortion nationwide. Many states quickly imposed full or partial bans on abortion.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The CDC team didn’t offer up theories as to whether the high court’s Dobbs<\/em> decision overturning Roe v. Wade<\/em> played any role in the decline.<\/p>\n
It did note that the 2022 numbers continued an ongoing trend of fewer abortions among American women.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“From 2013 to 2022, the total number of reported abortions decreased 5% … [and] the abortion rate decreased 10%,” Ramer’s group wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some other 2022 statistics from the new report:<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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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.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
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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%).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ramer’s team noted that medication abortion (typically a combination of misoprostol and mifepristone) rose in use by about 4% between 2021 and 2022.\u00a0 That follows a long-term trend, with medication abortions rising 129% between 2013 and 2022.<\/p>\n
The authors note that there’s been an “accumulation of evidence on the safety and effectiveness of medication abortion” during that time.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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