The most recent official abortion data in Ohio showed an increase from 2022 to 2023 and also showed that the majority of abortions still occur before the ninth week of pregnancy.
The number of people seeking out-of-state abortions has also increased, with this group accounting for nearly 13% of all abortions performed in Ohio.
The Ohio Department of Health Annual Reportwhich has been collecting induced abortion data since 1976, found that there were a total of 22,000 “induced pregnancy terminations” in the state in 2023, a 19% increase from the previous year, according to ODH.
The report used information collected from a “confidential abortion report” and a “post-abortion care report on complications” provided by doctors performing the procedures.
Despite a slight increase in the number of abortion services, both the abortion rate – the number of abortions per 1,000 live births – and the abortion rate – the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 – remain at the same level as in 2020, and lower than all indicators from 1996–2017 – according to ODH data.
ODH reported that the 2023 abortion rate was 8.7 per 1,000 residents aged 15–44, and the abortion rate was 151 abortions per 1,000 live births.
The number of abortions caused by Ohioans fell to the lowest level ever recorded in 2022, and the increase to 22,000 last year only brought the number to the level recorded in 2018 and 2020. These numbers are still significantly lower compared to the peak recorded number, over 45,000 abortions in 1982
Arguments were thrown around among Republican political candidates, including presidential candidates AND US Senatethat the so-called “late abortion” is a problem even though the deadline does not apply to it any basis in medical practice. The Ohio abortion report confirms other data showing that the expansive majority of abortions occur very early in pregnancy.
“More than half of all induced abortions in 2023 were for pregnancies of less than nine weeks (60.8%), of which approximately 25.9% were for pregnancies lasting 9 to 12 weeks,” the report said.
The number of abortions performed at 19 weeks or more of pregnancy in 2023 was 476, up from 342 the previous year, and 146 abortions were performed at 21 weeks or more of pregnancy, representing less than 1% of all abortions induced in 2023.
Among abortions performed after the 19th week of pregnancy, only one case was considered a real pregnancy based on medical examinations performed before the abortion.
Abortion is legal under the Ohio Revised Code until the 22nd week of pregnancy. The 2023 reproductive rights amendment passed by voters establishes fetal viability as a legal threshold of approximately 25-27 weeks. Although state legislation was passed in 2019 to shorten the legal abortion period to six weeks, the legislation was stayed by a court due to lawsuit in an attempt to completely eliminate this right is moving forward.
In 2023, most abortions were performed surgically, but almost 45% of cases involved medical abortion, especially using mifepristone.
More than 62% of abortions in Ohio were performed on people aged 25-55, and 29% of abortions were performed on people aged 20-24.
The report also collected data on the number of living children that women who underwent abortion had before the procedure, with the largest group (36.9%) being those who had two or more children. People declaring they had no children accounted for 34.5% of people who had an abortion last year.
The issue of abortion is still on the minds of the public and politicians ahead of the November general election became a key topic of conversation for many in their demands the support of voters for candidates. Next year’s abortion report will likely be impacted by changes to the abortion landscape in Ohio as well, starting in behind schedule 2023.
The constitutional amendment adopted in November 2023 by 57% of Ohio voters allows “a ban on abortion after fetal viability,” but abortion cannot be banned “if in the professional judgment of the physician treating a pregnant patient it is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient,” according to the amendment.
This year, a Franklin County judge blocked a state law requiring a 24-hour waiting period for an abortion, a Hamilton County Judge authorized the virtual prescribing of the abortion drug mifepristone and its distribution through pharmacies and mail order services.
The The U.S. Supreme Court also rejected the lawsuit whose purpose is to prevent mifepristone from being prescribed under current FDA-approved standards.
In response to the latest abortion report, the executive director of the advocacy group Abortion Forward, Kellie Copeland, said the data “shows how critically important it is to protect access to trusted providers.”
The anti-abortion group Ohio Right to Life called the statistics “heartbreaking” and said the number of people traveling to Ohio for abortions from states with more stringent regulations shows that “Ohio, unfortunately, is becoming a destination state for aborting babies.” says ORL president Mike Gonidakisa.
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