Wisconsin’s 2023 abortion statistics were published online in August 2025 by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. The report shows that Wisconsin abortions decreased in 2023. The data published by the state does not include the total number of abortions obtained by Wisconsin residents out of state or the number of self-managed abortions performed by women outside of the healthcare system. The report also does not contain the number of mail-order abortion drugs obtained by Wisconsin residents prescribed by licensed abortion providers in other states. In a separate section, Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) will describe data provided by the Guttmacher Institute’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study that details the total number of abortions occurring in the state in 2023 as estimated by Guttmacher’s sample survey and mathematical models. Guttmacher’s abortion estimates include the number of abortions obtained at brick-and-mortar facilities and those provided via telehealth and virtual providers in other states, as well as the number of Wisconsin women who traveled to other states to obtain an abortion.
Wisconsin’s statute code defines abortion as “the use of an instrument, medicine, drug or other substance or device with intent to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant…and with intent other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the infant after live birth or to remove a dead fetus” (Wis. Stat. §253.10).
After Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, 2022, the state’s 1849 life at conception law went into effect. This law remained in effect until July 2023, when a Dane County circuit court judge ruled that the law did not apply to “consensual” abortions, but only “feticide.” Due to this decision, abortion became available through 21 weeks of gestation. In cases where a mother’s life or physical health is threatened by a continued pregnancy, abortion is prohibited after 21 weeks of gestation. The ruling was made final on December 5, 2023. Telehealth abortions have been prohibited in the state since 2012. Because the life at conception law was in effect for part of 2023, the number of abortions (surgical and drug-induced) performed at brick-and-mortar facilities decreased dramatically compared to prior years. However, as the Guttmacher data will show, the total number of abortions performed on Wisconsin residents actually increased in 2023 compared to the resident total reported by the state in 2022.
Statistics and Changes in Wisconsin Abortions, 2022-2023
The change in total abortions and drug-induced abortions reflects abortions performed on Wisconsin residents. The change in the abortion rate reflects all abortions reported in Wisconsin, including those obtained by non-residents. The report does not include information on Planned Parenthood’s Wisconsin abortion market share.
Abortion Totals and Trends
Wisconsin reported 874 brick-and-mortar abortions in 2023, down 74% from the year before. Of these, 864 abortions were performed on Wisconsin residents, including 393 drug-induced abortions (Fig. 1). Drug-induced abortions performed on Wisconsin residents decreased by 66% from 2022 and made up 45% of total Wisconsin resident abortions in 2023. CLI estimates that Wisconsin’s abortion rate decreased by 73% from 2022 to 0.8 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 (Fig. 2).1 As of August 2025, 35 states had released 2023 abortion statistics; 16 of these states reported that abortions had decreased.
State Report Summary
In 2023, 99% of the abortions occurring in Wisconsin were performed on state residents, while 1% were obtained by nonresident women. Three percent of the abortions were on girls under the age of 18, and 8% were on girls aged 18 and 19. Thirty-two percent were performed on women ages 20 to 24, 26% on women ages 25 to 29, and 26% on women in their thirties. Four percent were performed on women aged 40 and older.
There were 28 abortions performed on Wisconsin residents under the age of 18. One minor who obtained an abortion was emancipated and therefore didn’t need parental consent under Wisconsin law, but the 27 other minors obtained consent from an adult on behalf of the minor. In 23 of the 27 cases, adult consent was given by a parent, by a guardian or legal custodian in three cases, and by an adult family member in one case.
Fifty-five percent of abortions were on white women. Thirty-two percent were performed on black women, and 3% on women of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. Two percent were on American Indian women, and eight abortions were obtained by Laotian/Hmong women. Eleven abortions were performed on women of other races, while 16 were performed on women of multiple races. The race was unknown for 6% of abortions. CLI estimates that the black abortion rate, 3.1 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, was six times higher than the white abortion rate of 0.5.
Eighty-nine percent of the abortions were on unmarried women, 11% were on married women, and less than one percent were on women of unknown marital status. Eight percent of the abortions were on women who had not graduated from high school. Forty-four percent were on women with only a high school diploma or GED, and 32% were on women who had attended some college or who had an associate degree. Fifteen percent were performed on women with a bachelor’s degree or more. Level of education was not reported for 1% of the abortions.
More than half the abortions (53%) occurred at eight weeks of gestation or earlier. Twenty-seven percent were performed between nine and 10 weeks, and 8% between 11 and 12 weeks of gestation. Five percent were performed from 13 to 15 weeks, and 7% from 16 to 20 weeks of gestation. There were zero abortions performed after 20 weeks of gestation.
Information on the types of abortion procedure is provided for abortions performed on Wisconsin residents only. Of the abortions performed on Wisconsin women, 54% were performed using surgical procedures, and 45% were drug-induced abortions. In addition, eight failed or incomplete drug-induced abortions were completed surgically. In the past, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services told CLI that there is no way of determining whether any of these incomplete abortions were also included in the total count of drug-induced abortions. If these incomplete drug-induced abortions were double-counted, they would slightly inflate Wisconsin’s 2023 abortion total and rates.
In 2023, 83% of the abortions were reported to have no complications.2 Multiple complications can be reported for each abortion, and the most frequent complication was retained products of conception, occurring five times. There were 141 cases of other, unspecified complications. The report acknowledges the possibility that “some complications are missed or misreported.”
Abortion Provider Breakdown in Wisconsin3
| # of brick-and-mortar locations | 5 |
| # of independent centers | 2 |
| # of Planned Parenthood centers | 3 |
| # of hospitals/doctors’ offices that perform abortions | 0 |
| # of abortion drug providers | 5 |
| # of abortion drug-only providers | 1 |
| # of surgical and abortion drug providers | 4 |
| Latest gestational age that a center performs surgical abortion | Through 21 weeks |
2023 Guttmacher Data4
Guttmacher estimated that 1,360 abortions occurred in Wisconsin in 2023, a total 36% higher than the total reported by the state.5 Guttmacher reported that 1,310 abortions were performed on Wisconsin residents and 50 were performed on non-residents.6 Wisconsin’s reported resident total (864 abortions) was significantly lower than Guttmacher’s estimate. One potential explanation for the discrepancy between the two reporting entities is that Guttmacher’s total includes an estimate of the number of abortions obtained via the mail by Wisconsin residents after the July 2023 ruling reinterpreting the state’s life at conception law. Guttmacher’s estimates also include the number of abortions obtained via shield laws in states where abortion is legal at some point. Therefore, when brick-and-mortar abortions were prohibited in the state before July 2023, Guttmacher was not collecting shield law data but did so after the ruling. When CLI emailed the state’s Department of Health Services, the department told CLI that because the state has prohibited mail-order abortions since 2012, they do not collect such data.
Lastly, Guttmacher’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study reported that 6,650 Wisconsin women traveled out of state to obtain an abortion in 2023. The number of abortions obtained by Wisconsin women in various states according to Guttmacher were as follows:6
- 5,270 Wisconsin women obtained abortions in Illinois
- 1,380 Wisconsin women obtained abortions in Minnesota
Additional data from other sources provide a more complete picture than the brick-and-mortar data provided by Wisconsin. Guttmacher data shows that shield law abortions were obtained by Wisconsin residents, and several thousand Wisconsin women traveled out of state to obtain an abortion.
State Ranking
In 2024, CLI published a paper reevaluating abortion reporting across the country, with Wisconsin tied for 20th best. To improve its reporting, Wisconsin could report the types of surgical abortion procedures with more specificity and the types of procedures for all abortions that occurred in the state, not just those obtained by resident women. Wisconsin could also indicate whether complications resulted from drug-induced or surgical abortions. In addition, Wisconsin could amend its abortion reporting form to allow providers to indicate whether they reported weeks LMP (last menstrual period) or the estimated length of pregnancy.
- National rates were calculated by Guttmacher Institute. Wisconsin rates were calculated by CLI using the following formula: (total number of abortions performed in Wisconsin ÷ number of resident women ages 15-44 [based on most recent population estimates]) x 1,000. Rates may differ slightly from previous CLI articles due to revised population estimates. Population estimates were obtained using the CDC WONDER database. Estimates for 2005-2009 are intercensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Estimates for 2010-2019 are Vintage 2020 postcensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Estimates for 2020-2023 are Vintage 2023 postcensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Estimates were produced by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics.
- Statistics on abortion complications reported here represent a minimal number of deaths and complications, as this data is collected in a non-systematic and non-verifiable way. As such, this data cannot be used to calculate either an accurate abortion mortality rate or an accurate abortion complication rate for the state. The report cautions that “[a]ssessing the incidence of complications is somewhat problematic. Some complications do not occur immediately or become apparent while the patient is in post-procedure recovery; therefore, some complications are missed or misreported.”
- Provider totals do not include hospitals or physician offices not listed in databases that compile abortion provider locations in different states, but do include Planned Parenthood locations, independent abortion centers, and hospitals/doctors’ offices included in databases like Abortion Finder and Ineedana. Abortions are reported by the state as occurring in counties that don’t have any operative abortion centers. However, these counties have hospitals/doctors’ offices that perform abortions in certain cases, but aren’t included in the aforementioned databases. This information is updated as of August 28, 2025.
- The Guttmacher Institute notes that its monthly abortion totals by states are estimates and that each state’s estimate is within a range of uncertainty. Guttmacher also notes that their estimates do not reflect abortions obtained by women in states with total abortion bans under shield laws in effect in pro-abortion states. This information is updated as of August 28, 2025.
- Guttmacher’s abortion estimates on their public-facing online dashboard differ slightly from the totals in their spreadsheets. CLI utilized Guttmacher’s spreadsheet titled “MonthlyAbortionProvisionMonthly.xlsx” which was published on August 21, 2025. This spreadsheet can be found here under ‘Formatted Tables’.
- Guttmacher’s travel and residence data can be found here under ‘CSV’ (State_Abortion_Travel_2023.csv). It was published on August 21, 2025.
- Because the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is unable to tell whether an incomplete drug-induced abortion was previously reported as a drug-induced abortion, CLI is unable to determine if these incomplete abortions are included in the totals for drug-induced abortions.
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