On July 8, 2022, President Joe Biden signed “Executive Order on Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services.” The order directs Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit a report within 30 days on what actions HHS is taking to protect access to abortion and other reproductive services; states HHS will expand access to emergency contraception and long-acting reversible contraception as well as education about abortion; directs HHS to update physician responsibilities and protections guidance under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act; establishes an interagency reproductive health care access task force; collects private pro bono lawyers and organizations to provide legal representation to those seeking and providing abortions; directs the Federal Trade Commission and HHS to consider taking steps to protect patient privacy; and provides safety to those seeking and providing abortions. [277][278]

In guidance issued by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on July 11, 2022, the Biden Administration “reaffirmed that it [the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)] protects providers when offering legally-mandated, life- or health-saving abortion services in emergency situations” and that “this federal law preempts state law restricting access to abortion in emergency situations.” On July 14, 2022, Texas sued the federal government, stating: “EMTALA does not mandate access to abortion or codify a right to an abortion as ‘stabilizing treatment’ for an ’emergency medical condition.’ The Abortion Mandate cites no other federal law that would authorize or require an abortion. No federal statute, including EMTALA, supersedes or preempts the States’ power to regulate or prohibit abortion.” [279][280][284]

On July 13, 2022, the Biden Administration issued clarifying guidance with examples of when pharmacies that receive federal assistance (including via Medicare and Medicaid payments) are not allowed to refuse to fill prescriptions for drugs that may end a pregnancy lest they violate federal civil rights laws. The examples of potential civil rights violations (discrimination on the basis of sex or disability specifically) include but are not limited to: refusing to fill mifepristone and misoprostol prescriptions for miscarriages; not stocking or filling prescriptions for misoprostol, which can be used for stomach ulcers, or methotrexate, which can be used for rheumatoid arthritis, because of their alternate uses in abortions; refusing to stock or fill a prescription for emergency contraception if the pharmacy also stocks other contraception including condoms. [281][282][283]

On Aug. 23, 2022, U.S. District Court Judge James Wesley Hendrix ruled that the HHS guidance about the EMTALA was “unauthorized.” Hendrix wrote: “That guidance goes well beyond EMTALA’s text, which protects both mothers and unborn children, is silent as to abortion, and preempts state law only when the two directly conflict. Since the statute is silent on the question, the Guidance cannot answer how doctors should weigh risks to both a mother and her unborn child. Nor can it, in doing so, create a conflict with state law where one does not exist.” [285]

The following day, Aug. 24, 2022, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill blocked an Idaho ban on emergency abortions. Winmill wrote the court was tasked with determining “whether Idaho’s criminal abortion statute conflicts with a small but important corner of federal legislation. It does.” The conflict between the Aug. 23 ruling and the Aug. 24 ruling could send abortion rights back to the U.S. Supreme Court. [286]

On Sep. 1, 2022, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced an interim final rule that the VA would provide abortions to veterans and VA beneficiaries in some cases, regardless of state laws. Abortions will be available if the life or health of the pregnant person is in danger and in cases of rape and incest. [287]

On Mar. 4, 2024, France became the first country to enshrine abortion rights in the country’s constitution. The constitutional amendment makes abortion up to 14 weeks a “guaranteed freedom,” meaning future lawmakers will not be able to “drastically modify” the protection. Abortions are allowed later in a pregnancy if the mother’s physical or mental health is in danger or if certain anomalies are present in the fetus. The passage was not a surprise; the French have the highest support for legalized abortion, just after Sweden. [300]

On Mar. 14, 2024, Kamala Harris became the first sitting Vice President to visit an abortion clinic when she arrived at a Minnesota Planned Parenthood to speak to health-care providers and patients. [303]

Pro-Choice and Pro-Life Groups

Some prominent pro-choice organizations include Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the National Abortion Federation, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the National Organization for Women. Although many pro-life positions derive from religious ideology, several mainstream faith groups support the pro-choice movement, such as the United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Unitarian Universalist Association. [169][170]

The 2020 Democratic Party Platform endorsed the pro-choice position, stating: “Democrats are committed to protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice. We believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every woman should be able to access high-quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion. We will repeal the Title X domestic gag rule and restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides vital preventive and reproductive health care for millions of people, especially low-income people, and people of color, and LGBTQ+ people, including in underserved areas.” [169][170]

Some prominent pro-life organizations include The National Right to Life Committee, Pro-Life Action League, Operation Rescue, the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Americans United for Life, the National Association of Evangelicals, Family Research Council, Christian Coalition of America, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon Church). [6][170][171]

The 2016 Republican Party Platform (which was not updated in 2020) opposed abortion, stating: “We oppose the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood, so long as they provide or refer for elective abortions or sell fetal body parts rather than provide healthcare...We will not fund or subsidize healthcare that includes abortion coverage...We thank and encourage providers of counseling, medical services, and adoption assistance for empowering women experiencing an unintended pregnancy to choose life.” [[6][170][171]

While “pro-choice” and “pro-life” have long been the mainstream terms, some prefer “pro-abortion” and “anti-abortion,” either to clarify or scorn the position of the opposing group.

Public Opinion

A 2018 Marist Poll and Knights of Columbus survey found that 51% of Americans consider themselves to be pro-choice, and 44% consider themselves to be pro-life. [174]

A 2017 Pew Research survey found that 57% of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 40% say it should be illegal in all or most cases. [201]

Pew Research found that 69% of Americans—84% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans—surveyed said “No, do not overturn” in response to the question “Would you like to see the Supreme Court completely overturn its Roe versus Wade decision, or not?” [175]

A 2018 PPRI poll found that 45% of women and 42% of men agreed abortions should be covered by most health insurance plans. [172]

A Sep. 22, 2021, Marquette Law School survey found 20% were in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade, 50% were opposed, and 29% said they didn’t have enough information. A 2021 Monmouth University poll reported 62% of Americans were in favor of leaving the Roe v. Wade ruling as is, while 31% supported the Supreme Court revisiting the ruling. And a 2021 Quinnipiac University survey found that 67% agreed with the Roe v. Wade ruling and 27% were opposed. [225]

A June 2021 Gallup poll found 47% of Americans believed abortion to be morally acceptable, while 46% believed it not to be. 48% thought abortion should be legal “only under certain circumstances,” 32% “under any circumstances,” and 19% “illegal in all circumstances.” The majority of Americans opposed overturning Roe v. Wade (58%), while 32% are in favor of overturning the U.S. Supreme Court decision. 56% oppose banning abortion after the 18th week of pregnancy, 58% oppose fetal heartbeat restrictions, and 57% oppose abortion bans if the fetus is found to have a genetic disease or disorder. [222][223]

A June 2, 2022, Gallup poll found 58% of Americans are opposed to overturning Roe v. Wade, a steady majority seen since 1989. 35% would like to see the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion nationwide overturned. There were, however, partisan divides: 80% of Democrats, 62% of independents, and 31% of Republicans would keep Roe, while 58% of Republicans, 34% of independents, and 15% of Democrats want the ruling reversed. [271]

According to the same June 2, 2022, Gallup poll, 55% of Americans identified as “pro-choice,” the highest percentage since 1995. 39% identified as “pro-life,” and 5% were neither or unsure. For the first time in the history of the poll question (since 2001), 52% of Americans believe abortion is morally acceptable. 38% believed the procedure to be morally wrong, and 10% answered that it depended on the situation or they were unsure. [272]

Contemporary Abortion Procedures

Surgical abortion (aka suction curettage or vacuum curettage) involves using a suction device to remove the contents of a uterus. Surgical abortion performed later in pregnancy (after 12–16 weeks) is called D&E (dilation and evacuation). [81][82]

Medication abortion (also called the “abortion pill”), involves taking medications, usually mifepristone and misoprostol, within the first seven to nine weeks of pregnancy to induce an abortion. [39]

In Dec. 2022 the FDA clarified that Plan B is a contraceptive and is not an abortion drug: the pill “will not work if you’re already pregnant, and will not affect an existing pregnancy.” [290]

A U.S. district judge ruled on July 13, 2020, that requiring in-person visits for abortions was unconstitutional during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. The ruling allowed healthcare providers nationwide to mail mifepristone for the duration of the pandemic. The drug, when used in combination with misoprotosol, induces an abortion, and was the only drug the FDA required to be administered in a medical setting, according to the ACLU. [220]

On Dec. 16, 2021, the FDA permanently lifted the in-person requirements for mifepristone, which are available via telemedicine appointments and the mail. However, telemedicine appointments for abortions were banned in 19 states and six states had bans on mailing the pills in place at the time of the decision. [226]

On Jan. 3, 2023, the FDA announced that certified pharmacies will be allowed to dispense the abortion medication mifepristone to people with a prescription, removing the requirement that only a healthcare provider may dispense the medication. In Mar. 2024, CVS and Walgreens announced their stores would begin dispensing mifepristone in legal states on a rolling basis. [289][301]

On Apr. 7, 2023, two federal district court judges issued conflicting preliminary injunctions (rulings issued before the case is heard) on medication abortion: one in Texas ordered the FDA to take mifepristone off the market, while the other in Washington ordered the FDA to maintain the status quo (which would mean keeping mifepristone on the market). The first injunction (Texas) was stayed by the judge pending appeal. On Apr. 12, 2023, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on the Texas case allowing mifepristone to remain on the market while the case is heard, but restricting access: the drug may only be dispensed up to seven weeks of pregnancy instead of 10 and may not be dispensed through the mail. On Apr. 14, 2023, the U.S. Justice Department asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the Texas ruling, and Associate Justice Samuel Alito placed a hold on the ruling until Wednesday, Apr. 19, 2023, and the full court stayed the injunction on Friday, Apr. 21, 2023. In the meantime, some Democratic-led states are stockpiling the drug in case new restrictions are put on mifepristone. [293][294][295][296][297][298]

Abortion Statistics

From Roe v. Wade through 2017, over 60 million legal abortions were estimated to have been performed in the United States—an average of about 1.4 million abortions per year. In 2014, 19% of pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) ended in abortion, and 1.5% of women aged 15–44 had an abortion. At 2014 abortion rates, one in twenty U.S. women would have an abortion before age 20, one in five by 30, and about one in four by 45. 11% of women who had an abortion were teenagers, while most women who had abortions were in their 20s: 32% aged 20–24 and 27% aged 25–29. [176][189][190]

The U.S. abortion rate fell 29% between 1990 and 2005, from 27.4 to 19.4 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age, before leveling out from 2005–2008. Between 2008 and 2011, the abortion rate dropped again by 13% to its lowest point since 1973: 17 abortions for every 1,000 women; in 2014 the rate dropped another 14% to 15 abortions per 1,000 women. Pro-choice supporters credited an increased use of new birth control methods such as Mirena (an intra-uterine device that can last for several years) as one of the reasons for the decline. Pro-life groups credited an increase in anti-abortion laws at the state level amongst other factors, although abortion rates dropped faster than the national average in some states that had not enacted abortion restrictions, such as Illinois, where the rate dropped by 18%. [13][65][85][121][190]

The number of abortion providers has been declining since 1984, after it reached a peak of 2,908 providers in 1982. There were 1,671 abortion providers in the United States in 2014, including 272 abortion clinics, 516 non-specialized clinics, 638 hospitals, and 245 physicians’ offices. 90% of U.S. counties did not provide abortion services, with 39% of women living in those counties. Between 2011 and 2017, at least 126 clinics providing abortion services closed. Seven states (KY, MO, MS, ND, SD, WV, WY) had only one clinic left. [124][191][192][193][194][196]

Pro-choice advocates believe increased violence at clinics contributed to this downward trend in abortion providers. In 2016, 6% of abortion clinics reported losing staff members as a result of anti-abortion violence or harassment. According to the National Abortion Federation, a professional association of abortion practitioners, at least 229 arson attacks or bombings were committed against abortion providers between 1977 and 2017, with at least another 99 attempted arson attacks or bombings. Additionally, at least 11 abortion providers were murdered during that time, and there were at least 26 attempted murders of clinic staff and physicians. Mainstream pro-life leaders and organizations have publicly denounced violence committed against abortion providers and clinics. [98][99][195][197]

In 2017, abortion rates declined to an estimated 862,320 in the United States, or 13.5 abortions per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44. Those rates represent a 7% drop since 2014, according to a Sep. 2019 Guttmacher Institute survey, and the lowest recorded rate since abortion was legalized in 1973. [216]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 629,898 legal abortions in 2019 (the most recent data as of May 3, 2022). 92.7% of the abortions were performed at or before 13 weeks or gestation, 6.2% at 14–20 weeks, and less than 1.0% at or after 21 weeks’ gestation. 42.3% of all abortions were early medical abortions (at or before 9 weeks). The abortion ratio was 195 abortions per 1,000 live births. [234]

In a 2022 report, the World Health Organization and the Guttmacher Institute found that between 36 to 47 abortions were performed per 1,000 women (ages 15–49) yearly in countries where abortion is broadly legal. In countries where abortion is banned, between 31 and 51 abortions were performed per 1,000 women (ages 15–49) yearly. [288]

In the year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled abortion was not a constitutionally guaranteed right in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, abortion access dropped dramatically with 14 states outlawing the procedure entirely and another seven states imposing stricter laws. However, abortion procedures rose about 0.2% instead of decreasing as expected. In the two months before the Supreme Court ruling, there were 82,115 abortions per month. In the 12 months after the ruling, 82,298 abortions were performed on average per month. According to New York Times reporters Claire Cain Miller and Margot Sanger-Katz, the increase can be attributed to the “expansion of telemedicine for mail-order abortion pills, increased options and assistance for women who traveled, and a surge of publicity about ways to get abortions.” Additionally, 20 states increased abortion protections for both people seeking abortions and the health care providers who perform or assist abortions. [299]

The Guttmacher Institute reported an estimated 1,026,700 abortions in 2023. Isaac Maddow-Zimet, a data scientist with Guttmacher, says, “That’s the highest number in over a decade, [and] the first time there have been over a million abortions provided in the U.S. formal health care system since 2012. Some experts believe the estimate to be an undercount due to the uncountable number of self-managed abortions in which medication is obtained from a friend or a pregnant person travels to Mexico and other countries for medication. [302]