In 2022, the number of abortions in the United States saw a slight decrease following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, giving states the authority to regulate abortion access. According to the latest surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, abortions dropped by 2% in 2022 compared to the previous year. The abortion rate also decreased by 3% and the abortion ratio went down by 2%. This resulted in a total of 609,000 reported abortions in 2022, down from 622,000 in 2021.
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2022, many Republican-led states have implemented abortion bans with certain exceptions, such as in cases of medical emergencies. The data shows that the majority of abortions occurred before nine weeks of pregnancy, with over 70% being early medication abortions. These numbers were consistent with data from before the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
A small percentage of abortions, around 6%, took place between 14 and 20 weeks of pregnancy, while only about 1% were performed at or after 21 weeks of pregnancy. Women in their 20s accounted for more than half of the reported abortions, according to the CDC report. Additionally, nearly 60% of women who underwent abortions had previously given birth.
The CDC data covers information from 47 areas in the U.S. that have published data from 2013 to 2022. Despite the change in the legal landscape surrounding abortion access, the overall number of abortions only experienced a slight decline in 2022. It is clear that the impact of the reversal of Roe v. Wade on abortion rates is a complex issue with various factors at play.
