Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2020

Abstract

Problem/Condition: Since 1969, CDC has conducted abortion surveillance to document the number and characteristics of women obtaining legal induced abortions in the United States.Period Covered: 2015.Description of System: Each year, CDC requests abortion data from the central health agencies of 52 reporting areas (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City). The reporting areas provide this information voluntarily. For 2015, data were received from 49 reporting areas. Abortion data provided by these 49 reporting areas for each year during 2006-2015 were used in trend analyses. Census and natality data were used to calculate abortion rates (number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years) and ratios (number of abortions per 1,000 live births), respectively.Results: A total of 638,169 abortions for 2015 were reported to CDC from 49 reporting areas. Among these 49 reporting areas, the abortion rate for 2015 was 11.8 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years, and the abortion ratio was 188 abortions per 1,000 live births. From 2014 to 2015, the total number of reported abortions decreased 2% (from 652,639), the abortion rate decreased 2% (from 12.1 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years), and the abortion ratio decreased 2% (from 192 abortions per 1,000 live births). From 2006 to 2015, the total number of reported abortions decreased 24% (from 842,855), the abortion rate decreased 26% (from 15.9 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years), and the abortion ratio decreased 19% (from 233 abortions per 1,000 live births). In 2015, all three measures reached their lowest level for the entire period of analysis (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015).In 2015 and throughout the period of analysis, women in their 20s accounted for the majority of abortions and had the highest abortion rates; women aged ≥30 years accounted for a smaller percentage of abortions and had lower abortion rates. In 2015, women aged 20-24 and 25-29 years accounted for 31.1% and 27.6% of all reported abortions, respectively, and had abortion rates of 19.9 and 17.9 abortions per 1,000 women aged 20-24 and 25-29 years, respectively. In contrast, women aged 30-34, 35-39, and ≥40 years accounted for 17.7%, 10.0%, and 3.5% of all reported abortions, respectively, and had abortion rates of 11.6, 7.0, and 2.5 abortions per 1,000 women aged 30-34, 35-39, and ≥40 years, respectively. From 2006 to 2015, the abortion rate decreased among women in all age groups.In 2015, adolescents aged <15 and 15-19 years accounted for 0.3% and 9.8% of all reported abortions, respectively, and had abortion rates of 0.5 and 6.7 abortions per 1,000 adolescents aged <15 and 15-19 years, respectively. From 2006 to 2015, the percentage of abortions accounted for by adolescents aged 15-19 years decreased 41%, and their abortion rate decreased 54%. This decrease in abortion rate was greater than the decreases for women in any older age group.

Abortion providers in the United States: expanding beyond obstetrics and gynecology

“…According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Abortion Surveillance from 2020, the abortion rate decreased by 18% from 2011 to 2020, hitting a record low in 2017. 9 , 10 Unlike in the past, the decline in abortion rates since the 2010s cannot be attributed to improvements in contraception usage or can it be attributed to safety concerns. The national case fatality rate for legal induced abortion was 0.43 deaths per 100,000 reported legal abortions between 2013 and 2019, the lowest it has been for previous 5-year periods.…”

Predictors of Abortion Attitudes in Medical Students After the Reversal of Roe v. Wade

“…Approximately 30% of women will undergo an abortion before their mid-forties, and nearly half will seek an abortion in their lifetimes [3]. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines abortion as "an intervention performed within the limits of state law by a licensed clinician (e.g., a physician, nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant) intended to terminate a suspected or known intrauterine pregnancy and that does not result in a live birth" [4]. The two types of induced abortion services deemed safe in the U.S. are procedural and medical [5].…”

“…In 2020, a total of 620,327 abortions were reported to the CDC; the abortion rate was 11.2 abortions per 1,000 women, and the abortion ratio was 198 abortions per 1,000 live births [4]. Since 2011, there has been an overall decrease in the total number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions [2,4]. A few studies suggest that the decrease in abortions could be due to decreased incidence of unwanted pregnancy, as nearly half of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion [2,3].…”

“…In 2020, a total of 620,327 abortions were reported to the CDC; the abortion rate was 11.2 abortions per 1,000 women, and the abortion ratio was 198 abortions per 1,000 live births [ 4 ]. Since 2011, there has been an overall decrease in the total number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions [ 2 , 4 ].…”

Comparison of mifepristone plus misoprostol with misoprostol alone for first trimester medical abortion: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…According to a study in 2012, approximately 75% of healthcare providers in Canada and 98% of providers in the United States offered medication abortion to people younger than 18 years of age (6). A report also showed that medication abortion accounted approximately 45% of the abortions in the United States in 2022 (11), and out of the legally induced abortions reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2020, 51.0% were early-stage ones (12).…”