Abortion in the United States

==Statistics==
{{main|Abortion statistics in the United States}}
Because reporting of abortions is not mandatory, statistics are of varying reliability. Both the [[Centers For Disease Control]] (CDC)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/Data_Stats/Abortion.htm |title=CDCs Abortion Surveillance System FAQs |publisher=Center for Disease Control and Prevention |date=November 21, 2012 |access-date=August 8, 2013}}</ref> and the [[Guttmacher Institute]]<ref name="abortion 2008">{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Rachel K.|last2=Kooistra |first2=Kathryn |date=March 2011 |title=Abortion Incidence and Access to Services in the United States, 2008 |url=https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/pubs/psrh/full/4304111.pdf| journal= Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=41–50|access-date=December 8, 2017 |doi=10.1363/4304111|pmid=21388504|s2cid=2045184 }}</ref><ref name="abortion 2017">{{cite report |last1=Jones |first1=Rachel K.|last2=Witwer|first2=Elizabeth|last3=Jerman |first3=Jenna |date=September 2019 |title=Abortion Incidence and Service Availability in the United States, 2017 |url=https://www.guttmacher.org/report/abortion-incidence-service-availability-us-2017|access-date=December 12, 2020 |doi=10.1363/2019.30760|s2cid=203813573|doi-access=free|pmc=5487028}}</ref> regularly compile these statistics.

[[File:Number of Abortions in US (2005).gif|frameless|upright=3|'''Chart source''': CDC, 2005]]<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Laurie|title=Abortion Surveillance – United States, 2000|journal=Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries |location=Washington, D.C. |volume=52|issue=12|pages=1–32|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5212a1.htm|publisher=Center for Disease Control|access-date=October 2, 2013|pmid=14647014|year=2003}}</ref><br />
[[File:U.S. abortion rates, 1973-2017, Guttmacher Institute.png|Graph of U.S. abortion rates, 1973–2017, showing data collected by the Guttmacher Institute|frameless|upright=3]]<ref name="abortion 2008"/><ref name="abortion 2017"/>

===Number of abortions===
The annual number of legal induced abortions in the U.S. doubled between 1973 and 1979, and peaked in 1990. There was a slow but steady decline throughout the 1990s. Overall, the number of annual abortions decreased by 6% between 2000 and 2009, with temporary spikes in 2002 and 2006.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Elam-Evans|first=Laurie D.|title=Abortion Surveillance – United States, 2000|journal=Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries |location=Washington, D.C. |volume=52|issue=12|pages=1–32|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5212a1.htm|publisher=Center for Disease Control|access-date=October 2, 2013|pmid=14647014|year=2003}}</ref>

By 2011, abortion rate in the nation dropped to its lowest point since the Supreme Court legalized the procedure. According to a study performed by Guttmacher Institute, long-acting contraceptive methods had a significant impact in reducing unwanted pregnancies. There were fewer than 17 abortions for every 1,000 women of child-bearing age. That was a 13%-decrease from 2008's numbers and slightly higher than the rate in 1973, when the Supreme Court's ''Roe v. Wade'' decision legalized abortion.<ref name=Somashekhar>{{cite news|last=Somashekhar|first=Sandhya|title=Study: Abortion rate at lowest point since 1973|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/study-abortion-rate-at-lowest-point-since-1973/2014/02/02/8dea007c-8a9b-11e3-833c-33098f9e5267_story.html|access-date=February 3, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 2, 2014}}</ref> The study indicated a long-term decline in the abortion rate.<ref name=Moon>{{cite news|last=Moon|first=Angela|title=U.S. abortion rate hits lowest level since 1973: study|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-abortionrate-decline-idUSBREA110NV20140202|access-date=February 3, 2014|newspaper=Reuters|date=February 2, 2014}}</ref><ref name=Bassett>{{cite web|last=Bassett|first=Laura|title=U.S. Abortion Rate Hits Lowest Point Since 1973|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/02/abortion-rate-_n_4704986.html|access-date=February 3, 2014|website=The Huffington Post|date=February 2, 2014}}</ref><ref name=Jayson>{{cite news|last=Jayson|first=Sharon|title=Abortion rate at lowest level since 1973|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/02/abortion-recession-medication/5087945/|access-date=February 3, 2014|newspaper=USA Today|date=February 2, 2014}}</ref>

In 2016, the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) reported 623,471 abortions, a 2% decrease from 636,902 in 2015.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Jatlaoui|first1=TC|last2=Eckhaus|first2=L|last3=Mandel|first3=MG|last4=Nguyen|first4=A|last5=Oduyebo|first5=T|last6=Petersen|first6=Emily|last7=Whiteman|first7=MK|date=November 29, 2019|title=Abortion Surveillance – United States, 2016|journal=MMWR. Surveillance Summaries|volume=68|issue=11|pages=1–41|doi=10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1|pmid=31774741|issn=1546-0738|doi-access=free|pmc=6289084}}</ref>

During the first six months of 2023 (following ''[[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization|Dobbs]]'' in 2022), the numbers of abortions in certain U.S. states changed dramatically compared to the same time period in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Abortions tripled in New Mexico and Wyoming and more than doubled in South Carolina and Kansas. For 13 states that had banned abortion, the Guttmacher Institute had no 2023 data to make the comparison.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-07 |title=Map: How the number of abortions has changed, state by state |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/abortion-trends-by-state-map-2023-rcna103430 |access-date=2023-09-07 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

===Medical abortions===
A [[Guttmacher Institute]] survey of abortion providers estimated that early [[medical abortion]]s accounted for 17% of all non-hospital abortions and slightly over one-quarter of abortions before 9 weeks gestation in the United States in 2008.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jones|first1=Rachel K.|last2=Kooistra|first2=Kathryn|date=March 2011 |title=Abortion incidence and access to services in the United States, 2008 |journal=Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health|volume=43|issue=1|pages=41–50|doi=10.1363/4304111|pmid=21388504|s2cid=2045184 |url=http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/4304111.pdf}} 94% of non-hospital medical abortions used [[mifepristone]] and [[misoprostol]]—6% used [[methotrexate]] and [[misoprostol]]—in the United States in 2008.</ref> Medical abortions voluntarily reported to the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]] by 34 reporting areas (excluding Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) and published in its annual [[Abortion statistics in the United States|abortion surveillance reports]] have increased every year since the September 28, 2000 [[Food and Drug Administration|FDA]] approval of [[mifepristone]] (RU-486): 1.0% in 2000, 2.9% in 2001, 5.2% in 2002, 7.9% in 2003, 9.3% in 2004, 9.9% in 2005, 10.6% in 2006, 13.1% in 2007, 15.8% in 2008, 17.1% in 2009 (25.2% of those at less than 9 weeks gestation).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pazol|first1=Karen|last2=Creanga|first2=Andreea A.|last3=Zane|first3=Suzanne B.|last4=Burley|first4=Kim D.|last5=Jamieson|first5=Denise J|last6=Division of Reproductive Health|date=November 23, 2012|title=Abortion surveillance – United States, 2009 |journal=MMWR Surveillance Summaries|volume=61|issue=8|pages=1–44|pmid=23169413|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss6108.pdf}}</ref> Medical abortions accounted for 32% of first-trimester abortions at [[Planned Parenthood]] clinics in 2008.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fjerstad|first1= Mary|last2=Trussell|first2=James|last3=Sivin|first3=Irving|last4=Lichtenberg|first4=E. Steve|last5=Cullins|first5=Vanessa|date=July 9, 2009 |title=Rates of serious infection after changes in regimens for medical abortion |journal=New England Journal of Medicine|volume=361|issue=2|pages=145–151|doi=10.1056/NEJMoa0809146|pmid=19587339|pmc=3568698}}</ref> By 2020, medication abortions accounted for more than 50% of all abortions.<ref name="Guttmacher_2022-02">{{ cite web | url=https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/02/medication-abortion-now-accounts-more-half-all-us-abortions | title=Medication Abortion Now Accounts for More Than Half of All US Abortions | last=Jones | first=Rachel K. | work=[[Guttmacher Institute]] | date=2022-02-24 }}</ref> In 2023, medication abortions obtained within the formal health care system had risen to 63% of all abortions, with the total percentage (which would include self-managed abortions by individuals in states with total bans) likely higher.<ref name=Guttmacher_2024-03-19 >{{ cite web | url=https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/medication-abortion-accounted-63-all-us-abortions-2023-increase-53-2020 | title=Medication Abortion Accounted for 63% of All US Abortions in 2023—An Increase from 53% in 2020 | last1=Jones | first1=Rachel K. | last2=Friedrich-Karnik | first2=Amy | work=[[Guttmacher Institute]] | date=2024-03-19 }}</ref>

===Abortion and religion===
A majority of abortions are obtained by religiously identified women. According to the Guttmacher Institute, "more than 7 in 10 U.S. women obtaining an abortion report a religious affiliation (37% protestant, 28% Catholic, and 7% other), and 25% attend religious services at least once a month. The abortion rate for protestant women is 15 per 1,000 women, while Catholic women have a slightly higher rate, 20 per 1,000."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Rachel K|title=Changes in Abortion Rates Between 2000 and 2008 and Lifetime Incidence of Abortion|journal=Obstetrics & Gynecology|date=June 2011|volume=117|issue=6|pages=1358–1366|doi=10.1097/AOG.0b013e31821c405e|pmid=21606746|s2cid=21593113}}</ref>

===Abortions and ethnicity===
Abortion rates tend to be higher among minority women in the U.S. In 2000–2001, the rates among black and Hispanic women were 49 per 1,000 and 33 per 1,000, respectively, vs. 13 per 1,000 among non-Hispanic white women. This figure includes all women of reproductive age, including women that are not pregnant. In other words, these abortion rates reflect the rate at which U.S. women of reproductive age have an abortion each year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guttmacher.org/in-the-know/characteristics.html |title=Get "In the Know": Questions About Pregnancy, Contraception and Abortion |access-date=April 26, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311171704/http://www.guttmacher.org/in-the-know/characteristics.html |archive-date=March 11, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2004, the rates of abortion by ethnicity in the U.S. were 50 abortions per 1,000 black women, 28 abortions per 1,000 Hispanic women, and 11 abortions per 1,000 white women.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080925201556/http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1843717,00.html Abortion Rate Falls, But Not Equally for All Women], Time magazine, September 23, 2008</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112151842/https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2008/08/abortion-and-women-color-bigger-picture |title=Abortion and Women of Color: The Bigger Picture |work=Guttmacher Policy Review |volume=11 |number=3
|url=https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2008/08/abortion-and-women-color-bigger-picture |archive-date=2017-01-12 |accessdate=2024-03-29 |first1=Susan A |last1=Cohen |date=2008-08-06}}</ref>

===In-state vs. out-of-state ===

[[Roe v. Wade]] legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.  In 1972, 41% of abortions were performed on women outside their state of residence, while in 1973 it declined to 21%, and then to 11% in 1974.<ref name=PEW_2022-06-24>{{ cite web | url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/06/24/what-the-data-says-about-abortion-in-the-u-s-2/ | title=What the data says about abortion in the U.S. | last1=Diamant | first1=Jeff | last2=Mohamed | first2=Besheer | website=[[Pew Research Center]] | date=2022-06-24 }}</ref>

In the decade from 2011 to 2020, during which many states increased abortion restrictions, the percentage of women nationwide who traveled out of state for an abortion increased steadily, from 6% in 2011 to 9% in 2020.{{ r | Guttmacher_2022-07-21 }} Out of state travel for an abortion was much more prevalent in the 29 states hostile to abortion rights, with percentages in those states rising from 9% in 2011 to 15% by 2020, while in states supportive of abortion rights, out of state travel for abortions rose from 2% to 3% between 2011 and 2020.{{ r | Guttmacher_2022-07-21 }}

Gutttmacher has released data about abortions by ''state of occurrence'' and ''state of residence.''{{ r | Guttmacher_2022-07-21 }} In some states, these numbers can be tremendously different, for example in [[Missouri]], a state very hostile to abortion rights, the ''abortion rate by state of occurrence'' dropped from 4 in 1000 women aged 15–44 for 2017 to 0.1 for 2020, because 57% of abortion recipients went out of state in 2017, while 99% did so in 2020.{{ r | Guttmacher_2022-07-21 }} In contrast, from 2017 to 2020, the ''abortion rate by state of residence'' for Missourians went up by 18% from 8.4 to 9.9.{{ r | Guttmacher_2022-07-21 }}

Some out of state travel pertains to locations of population centers in states; if large cities are close to state borders it may be common to cross borders for an abortion.{{ r | Guttmacher_2022-07-21 }}  For example, Delaware, which is generally supportive of abortion rights, saw 44% of residents obtain their abortions in neighboring states.<ref name=Guttmacher_2022-07-21 >{{ cite web | url=https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/07/even-roe-was-overturned-nearly-one-10-people-obtaining-abortion-traveled-across | title=Even Before Roe Was Overturned, Nearly One in 10 People Obtaining an Abortion Traveled Across State Lines for Care | last1=Maddow-Zimet | first1=Isaac | last2=Kost | first2=Kathryn | work=[[Guttmacher Institute]] | date=2022-07-21 }}</ref>

=== Motherhood ===
In 2019, 60% of women who had abortions were already mothers, and 50% already had two or more children.<ref name=NYT_2021-12-14 >{{ cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/14/upshot/who-gets-abortions-in-america.html | title=Who Gets Abortions in America? | last1=Sanger-Katz | first1=Margot | last2=Cain Miller | first2=Claire | last3=Bui | first3=Quoctrung | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=2021-12-14 | quote=Six in 10 women who have abortions are already mothers, and half of them have two or more children, according to 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “One of the main reasons people report wanting to have an abortion is so they can be a better parent to the kids they already have,” Professor Upadhyay said. }}</ref><ref name=Parenting_2022-06-24 >{{ cite news | url=https://www.parents.com/parenting/i-m-a-mom-and-i-had-an-abortion/ | title=The Latest Abortion Statistics and Facts | last=Zerwick | first=Phoebe | newspaper=[[Parenting (magazine)|Parenting]] | date=2022-06-24 | quote=Did you know that a majority of people who have abortions are already parents? Of those who received an abortion, 60 percent had "one or more" previous children—according to 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). }}</ref>

===Reasons for abortions===
{{update section|date=May 2022}}
A 1998 study revealed that in 1987 to 1988, women reported the following as their primary reasons for choosing an abortion:<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Akinrinola |last1=Bankole |first2=Susheela |last2=Singh |first3=Taylor |last3=Haas |url=http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2411798.html |title=Reasons Why Women Have Induced Abortions: Evidence from 27 Countries |journal=International Family Planning Perspectives |year=1998 |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=117–127, 152 |jstor=3038208 |doi=10.2307/3038208 |access-date=June 24, 2007 |archive-date=January 17, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060117191716/http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/2411798.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Finer et al 2005">{{cite journal |first1=Lawrence B. |last1=Finer |first2=Lori F. |last2=Frohwirth |first3=Lindsay A. |last3=Dauphinee |first4=Susheela |last4=Singh |first5=Ann M. |last5=Moore |url=http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3711005.pdf |title=Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives |journal=Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=110–118 |date=September 2005 |jstor=3650599 |pmid=16150658 |doi=10.1111/j.1931-2393.2005.tb00045.x}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Percentage
of women
!Primary reason for choosing an abortion
|-
|25.5%
|Want to postpone childbearing
|-
|21.3%
|Cannot afford a baby
|-
|14.1%
|Has relationship problem or partner does not want pregnancy
|-
|12.2%
|Too young; parent(s) or other(s) object to pregnancy
|-
|10.8%
|Having a child will disrupt education or employment
|-
|7.9%
|Want no (more) children
|-
|3.3%
|Risk to fetal health
|-
|2.8%
|Risk to maternal health
|-
|2.1%
|Other
|}
The source of this information takes findings into account from 27 nations including the United States, and therefore, these findings may not be typical for any one nation.

According to a 1987 study that included specific data about [[late term abortion|late abortions]] (i. e., abortions "at 16 or more weeks' gestation"),<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Aida |last1=Torres |first2=Jacqueline Darroch |last2=Forrest |s2cid=25224865 |title=Why Do Women Have Abortions? |journal=Family Planning Perspectives |volume=20 |issue=4 |date=Jul–Aug 1988 |pages=169–176 |jstor=2135792 |pmid=3243347 |quote=Some 42 facilities were originally invited to participate in the study; these include six at which a relatively large number of late abortions (those at 16 or more weeks' gestation) were performed. |doi=10.2307/2135792}}</ref> women reported that various reasons contributed to their having a late abortion:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Percentage
of women
!Reasons contributing to a late abortion
|-
|71%
|Woman did not recognize she was pregnant or misjudged gestation
|-
|48%
|Woman had found it hard to make arrangements for an earlier abortion
|-
|33%
|Woman was afraid to tell her partner or parents
|-
|24%
|Woman took time to decide to have an abortion
|-
|8%
|Woman waited for her relationship to change
|-
|8%
|Someone had earlier pressured woman not to have abortion
|-
|6%
|Something changed some time after woman became pregnant
|-
|6%
|Woman did not know timing is important
|-
|5%
|Woman did not know she could get an abortion
|-
|2%
|A fetal problem was diagnosed late in pregnancy
|-
|11%
|Other
|}
In 2000, cases of rape or incest accounted for 1% of abortions.<ref>[http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0904509.html "Induced Abortion Facts in Brief"] (2002) (13,000 out of 1.31 million abortions in 2000 were on account of rape or incest). Retrieved via InfoPlease January 7, 2007. Adapted from "Alan Guttmacher Institute, Induced Abortion, Facts in Brief, 2002". [http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html Facts in Brief] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013034110/http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html |date=October 13, 2007 }} from [[Guttmacher Institute]] does not include the 13 000 statistic though, nor does [https://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/sfaa/sfaa_sources.html the 2003 version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306024115/https://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/sfaa/sfaa_sources.html |date=March 6, 2015 }}.</ref>

A 2004 study by the [[Guttmacher Institute]] reported that women listed the following amongst their reasons for choosing to have an abortion:<ref name="Finer et al 2005"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Percentage
of women
!Reason for choosing to have an abortion
|-
|74%
|Having a baby would dramatically change my life
|-
|73%
|Cannot afford a baby now
|-
|48%
|Do not want to be a single mother or having relationship problems
|-
|38%
|Have completed my childbearing
|-
|32%
|Not ready for another child
|-
|25%
|Do not want people to know I had sex or got pregnant
|-
|22%
|Do not feel mature enough to raise a(nother) child
|-
|14%
|Husband or partner wants me to have an abortion
|-
|13%
|Possible problems affecting the health of the fetus
|-
|12%
|Concerns about my health
|-
|6%
|Parents want me to have an abortion
|-
|1%
|Was a victim of rape
|-
|less than .5%
|Became pregnant as a result of incest
|}
A 2008 [[National Survey of Family Growth]] (NSFG) shows that rates of unintended pregnancy are highest among Blacks, Hispanics, and women with lower socio-economic status.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dehlendorf |first=Christine |author2=Lisa Harris |title=Disparities in Abortion Rates: A Public Health Approach|journal=American Journal of Public Health|date=October 1, 2013|volume=103|issue=10|pages=1772–1779 |doi=10.2105/ajph.2013.301339|pmid=23948010 |pmc=3780732}}</ref>
* 70% of all pregnancies among Black women were unintended
* 57% of all pregnancies among Hispanic women were unintended
* 42% of all pregnancies among White women were unintended

===When women have abortions (by gestational age)===
[[File:US abortion by gestational age 2016 histogram.svg|thumb|alt=A histogram showing fraction of US abortions at various times in 2016: 25,000 in the first 6 weeks, peaking at 76,000 in the 7th week, then steadily declining to 1,500 in the 18th through 20th weeks, and the quantity after 20 weeks invisible at this scale.|Abortion in the U.S. by gestational age, 2016<ref name=cdcss6311a1/>]]
According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2011, most (64.5%) abortions were performed by ≤8 weeks' gestation, and nearly all (91.4%) were performed by ≤13 weeks' gestation. Few abortions (7.3%) were performed between 14 and 20 weeks' gestation or at ≥21 weeks' gestation (1.4%). From 2002 to 2011, the percentage of all abortions performed at ≤8 weeks' gestation increased 6%.<ref name=cdcss6311a1>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6311a1.htm|title=Abortion Surveillance – United States, 2011|access-date=January 25, 2017}}</ref>

===Safety of abortions===
{{see also|Abortion#Safety}}

The risk of [[Maternal death|death]] from carrying a child to term in the U.S. is approximately 14 times greater than the risk of death from a legal abortion.<ref name="grimes-mortality-2012">{{ Cite journal | last1=Raymond | first1=E. G. | last2=Grimes | first2=D. A. | doi=10.1097/AOG.0b013e31823fe923 | title=The Comparative Safety of Legal Induced Abortion and Childbirth in the United States | journal=Obstetrics & Gynecology | volume=119 | issue=2, Part 1 | pages=215–219 | year=2012 | pmid=22270271 | s2cid=25534071 | quote=...The pregnancy-associated mortality rate among women who delivered live neonates was 8.8 deaths per 100,000 live births. The mortality rate related to induced abortion was 0.6 deaths per 100,000 abortions...The risk of death associated with childbirth is approximately 14 times higher than that with abortion.}}</ref>  In 2012, the mortality rate from legal abortion was 0.6 abortion-related deaths per 100,000 abortions.<ref name="grimes-mortality-2012" />  The risk of abortion-related mortality increases with gestational age, but remains lower than that of childbirth through at least 21 weeks' gestation.<ref name="bartlett">{{cite journal |author=Bartlett LA |title=Risk factors for legal induced abortion-related mortality in the United States |journal=Obstetrics & Gynecology |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=729–737 |date=April 2004 |pmid=15051566 |doi=10.1097/01.AOG.0000116260.81570.60 |author2=Berg CJ |author3=Shulman HB|author3-link= Holly Shulman |last4=Zane |first4=Suzanne B. |last5=Green |first5=Clarice A. |last6=Whitehead |first6=Sara |last7=Atrash |first7=Hani K.|s2cid=42597014 |display-authors=3 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="emedicine">{{cite web |publisher=[[eMedicine]] |title=Elective Abortion |date=May 27, 2010 |access-date=June 1, 2010 |first=Suzanne |last=Trupin |quote=At every gestational age, elective abortion is safer for the mother than carrying a pregnancy to term. |url=http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/252560-overview |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041214092044/http://www.emedicine.com/MED/topic3311.htm |archive-date=December 14, 2004 }}</ref><ref name="Genevra-2012">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-abortion-idUSTRE80M2BS20120123|title=Abortion safer than giving birth: study|last=Pittman|first=Genevra|date=January 23, 2012|work=Reuters|access-date=February 4, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206195457/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/23/us-abortion-idUSTRE80M2BS20120123|archive-date=February 6, 2012}}</ref>

For the period 2013 – 2019, the rate of mortality from legal abortion procedures in the US was 0.43 abortion-related deaths per 100,000 reported legal abortions, lower than the rates for previous 5-year periods.<ref name=CDC_2022_AS>{{Cite journal |last=Kortsmit |first=Katherine |date=2022 |title=Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2020 |url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/ss/ss7110a1.htm |journal=MMWR. Surveillance Summaries |language=en-us |volume=71 |issue=10 |pages=1–27 |doi=10.15585/mmwr.ss7110a1 |issn=1546-0738 |pmc=9707346 |pmid=36417304}}</ref> In 2019, there were four identified deaths related to abortion in the US, out of 625,000 abortions.<ref name=CDC_2022_AS />

===Birth control effects===
{{main|Birth control}}
Increased access to birth control has been statistically linked to reductions in the abortion rate.<ref name="ObGyn 2012 No-Cost Contraception">{{cite journal | title = Preventing Unintended Pregnancies by Providing No-Cost Contraception | last1=Peipert|first1=Jeffrey F.|last2=Madden|first2=Tessa| last3=Allsworth| first3=Jenifer E. |last4=Secura|first4=Gina M.|journal = Obstetrics & Gynecology | volume = 120 | issue = 6 | pages=1291–1297|date=December 2012| doi=10.1097/AOG.0b013e318273eb56 | pmid=23168752| quote=Conclusion: We noted a clinically and statistically significant reduction in abortion rates, repeat abortions, and teenage birth rates. Unintended pregnancies may be reduced by providing no-cost contraception and promoting the most effective contraceptive methods. | pmc=4000282}}</ref><ref name="Guttmacher 2016 Drop in Unintended">{{cite web |last=Dreweke |first=Joerg|date=March 18, 2016 |title=New Clarity for the U.S. Abortion Debate: A Steep Drop in Unintended Pregnancy Is Driving Recent Abotion Declines|url=https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2016/03/new-clarity-us-abortion-debate-steep-drop-unintended-pregnancy-driving-recent-abortion|access-date=January 22, 2021|publisher=Guttmacher Institute}}</ref><ref name="Brookings 2019 Access to Contraception">{{cite web |last1=Guyot |first1=Katherine| last2=Sawhill | first2=Isabel V. | date=July 29, 2019 |title=Reducing access to contraception won't reduce the abortion rate|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2019/07/29/reducing-access-to-contraception-wont-reduce-the-abortion-rate/|access-date=January 22, 2021|publisher=[[Brookings Institution]] | quote=While the new rules were motivated by opposition to abortion, the state experiences we highlight in our paper show that increasing access to highly effective methods of contraception (and thus preventing unintended pregnancies) is a more effective way to reduce abortion rates. Barriers to contraceptive access will impede further progress in reducing unintended pregnancy rates, will raise government costs for Medicaid and other social programs, and will lead to more women seeking an abortion. }}</ref> As an element of [[family planning]], birth control was federally subsidized for low income families in 1965 under President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s [[War on Poverty]] program. In 1970, Congress passed [[Title X]] to provide family planning services for those in need, and President [[Richard Nixon]] signed it into law. Funding for Title X rose from $6&nbsp;million in 1971 to $61&nbsp;million the next year, and slowly increased each year to $317&nbsp;million in 2010, after which it was reduced by a few percent.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hhs.gov/opa/title-x-family-planning/about-title-x-grants/funding-history/index.html|date=April 4, 2019|website=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |title=Title X Program Funding History |access-date=March 2, 2021}}</ref>

In 2011, the [[Guttmacher Institute]] reported that the number of abortions in the U.S. would be nearly two-thirds higher without access to birth control.<ref>{{cite web|date=February 2011|url=http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_contraceptive_serv.html|title=Facts on Publicly Funded Contraceptive Services in the United States|publisher=[[Guttmacher Institute]]|access-date=March 2, 2021|archive-date=September 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926025834/http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_contraceptive_serv.html}}</ref> In 2015, the [[Federation of American Scientists]] reported that federally mandated access to birth control had helped reduce teenage pregnancies in the U.S. by 44 percent, and had prevented more than 188,000 unintended pregnancies.<ref>{{Cite report|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45181.pdf|title=Family Planning Program Under Title X of the Public Health Service Act|last=Napili|first=Angela|date=October 15, 2018|access-date=May 4, 2020}}</ref>