Abortion Reporting: Arizona (2023)

Arizona’s 2023 abortion report was published online by the Arizona Department of Health Services in December 2024. Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) is summarizing the information in the abortion report published by the state. The data published by the state does not include the total number of abortions obtained by Arizona residents out of state or the number of self-managed abortions on women outside of the healthcare system. It is also unlikely that the report contains the number of mail-order abortion drugs obtained by Arizona residents prescribed by licensed abortion providers in other states.  In a separate section, CLI will describe data provided by the Guttmacher Institute’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study that details the number of women who traveled to Arizona to obtain abortions and their states of residence, as well as the number of abortions obtained by Arizona women in other states.

Statistics and Changes in Arizona Abortions, 2022-2023

The change in total abortions and drug-induced abortions reflects abortions performed on Arizona residents, while the change in the abortion rate reflects all abortions occurring in the state.

In 2023, there were 12,888 abortions reported in Arizona, an increase of 12% from 2022. Abortions performed on Arizona residents increased by 11%, while drug-induced abortions increased by 15% (Fig. 1). CLI estimates that Arizona’s state abortion rate was 9.0 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 (Fig. 2).¹ As of January 2025, 26 states have released 2023 abortion data with 14 states showing increases in abortion in 2023.

State Report Summary

Resident Demographic Data

Of the abortions performed in Arizona in 2023, 12,705 (99%) were performed on Arizona residents. Most of the demographic information in the report is for resident abortions only.

Nine percent of Arizona resident abortions were performed on girls under the age of 20, with 2% on girls ages 17 or younger and 6% on girls ages 18 and 19. Thirty-one percent of the abortions were obtained by women ages 20 to 24, and 28% by women ages 25 to 29. Twenty-nine percent were performed on women in their thirties, and 3% on women ages 40 and older. In Arizona, parental consent is required before an abortion may be performed on a minor under the age of 18. In 2023, 31 minors filed petitions asking judges to waive the parental consent requirement, of which 28 were granted. The number of petitions denied or withdrawn were suppressed.

Arizona reports race and ethnicity together, and in 2023, 47% of Arizona resident abortions were obtained by Hispanic women. Thirty percent of the abortions were performed on non-Hispanic white women, and 11% were performed on African American women. Three percent of Arizona resident abortions were obtained by Asian or Pacific Islander women. Two percent of the abortions were performed on American Indian women and another 2% on women of multiple races. Race was not reported for 3% of the resident women who obtained abortions in Arizona.

A majority of the abortions for which education was reported were performed on women with at least 12 years of education: 27% were obtained by women with 12 years of education and 25% were performed on women with 13 to 16 years of education, while 4% of the abortions were performed on women with 17 years of education or more. In contrast, 10% of the abortions were performed on women with fewer than 12 years of education. However, education was not reported for 34% of the abortions.

Eighty-five percent of Arizona women were performed on unmarried women, while 15% were on married women. Sixty-four percent of the abortions were obtained by women with at least one prior pregnancy. Twenty-one percent of the abortions were performed on women with one previous live birth, 31% on women with two or more prior births, and 45% on women with no previous live births. Sixty-three percent of Arizona resident abortions were performed on women with no previous abortions, compared to 23% on women with one prior abortion and 10% on women with two or more abortions. Eighteen percent of Arizona abortions were performed on women who had previously had a miscarriage. The number of previous live births was not reported for 2% of Arizona resident abortions, while the number of previous pregnancies, abortions, and miscarriages was not reported for 3%, 4%, and 5% of Arizona resident abortions, respectively.

Medical Information

Fifty-two percent of the abortions were performed using abortion drugs, of which the vast majority (99.7%) were induced using mifepristone. Forty-seven percent were surgical abortions, of which the vast majority (85%) were performed using suction curettage.

Thirty-six percent of Arizona resident abortions occurred at six weeks of gestation or earlier. Thirty-four percent were performed between seven and eight weeks, and 17% were performed between nine and 10 weeks of gestation. Seven percent occurred between 11 and 12 weeks of gestation and 5% at 13 to 14 weeks. One percent were performed between 15 and 16 weeks of gestation, and nine abortions were performed from 17 to 19 weeks. There were 12 abortions performed at 20 weeks of gestation or later, with five abortions at 20 weeks and seven abortions at or after 21 weeks. The number of abortions performed between zero and 14 weeks increased by 17% from 2022 to 2023 while the number of abortions performed at 15 weeks or later decreased by 77%. The reason for the decrease could be that Arizona’s law that prohibits abortion after 15 weeks gestation, except in limited cases, remained in effect for the entirety of 2023.

The vast majority of Arizona resident abortions (99.1%) were performed in abortion centers. There were 33 abortions performed in hospitals and 78 performed in other outpatient settings. Sixty-one percent of the abortions were performed by doctors specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, and 39% were performed by doctors who specialized in general family practice.

Planned Parenthood accounted for 16% of the abortions, with 72% of Planned Parenthood abortions occurring at their Glendale location and 28% at their Southern Arizona Regional Health Center (formerly the Margaret Sanger Center) in Tucson. Overall, the percentage of Arizona resident abortions performed at Planned Parenthood locations decreased by 34% from 2022 to 2023 and unlike 2022, the state reported that zero abortions occurred at Planned Parenthood’s Flagstaff and Tempe locations. Thirty-four percent of the total Arizona resident abortions occurred at Camelback Family Planning, and 21% were performed at Family Planning Associates Medical Group. Nineteen percent were performed by Acacia Women’s Center, and 9% and 2% were performed by Choices Women’s Center and Desert Star Family Planning, respectively. An additional nine hospitals and doctor’s offices also reported abortions. The number of abortions performed at independent centers increased by 27% from 2022 to 2023.

Eighteen percent of the women undergoing abortions received anesthesia, while 82% did not receive anesthesia. Zero unborn babies killed by abortion were anesthetized, compared to the eight percent that were in 2022. In Arizona, abortion facilities must report what was done with the unborn babies’ bodies. In almost every case, facilities reported that “tissue was not donated in part or whole.” The remains were delivered to a mortuary in 13 cases. No babies’ bodies were donated for research.

In 2023, there were six reports of complications occurring during the abortion that were recorded on the abortion procedure report form. There were 21 complications reported subsequent to the abortion procedure using the abortion complication report form.² Arizona’s state Medicaid Agency, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), pays for abortions in limited circumstances, and in 2023, there was one abortion paid for using Arizona state monies.

Arizona requires that women be given necessary information and allowed the opportunity to give their informed consent before an abortion is performed. Arizona collects information on informed consent separately from the abortion reporting form, and the reporting requirement applies both to doctors who perform abortions and doctors who provide abortion referrals. In 2023, 17,109 women were provided with both the information about their abortion procedure and about their rights and alternatives available to them. Additionally, those 17,109 women were given the opportunity to listen to their baby’s heartbeat or view their ultrasound. There were no reported medical emergencies creating exceptions to the informed consent requirement.

In 2023, eight babies were reported to have survived abortions; the report does not say what happened to these babies or how or if they were cared for.

Reasons for Abortion

Arizona collects the reasons for which abortions are performed, and women can give more than one reason. In 2023, 73% of the women undergoing abortions indicated the abortion was elective. Two percent of the abortions were performed due to maternal health considerations, and 0.2% were performed because of the health of the unborn baby. Approximately 0.6% of the abortions were performed due to domestic violence and 0.3% for sexual assault. Twenty-four percent of women provided a different answer, while 33% declined to give a reason. Of the women who shared another reason for getting an abortion, 72% reported that they chose abortion because they wished not to have children.

Separately, the report includes a table with the number of abortions performed for maternal or fetal health conditions, although it is not clear if these completely overlapped with the abortions for the health of the mother or baby. Approximately 20 abortions were performed because the baby had an unknown fetal medical condition. Approximately 290 abortions were performed because of maternal conditions. Included in the list of maternal conditions that caused women to seek an abortion were nine cases of premature rupture of membranes/hemorrhage/abruption and 281 cases of another medical condition. Some of the conditions listed as a reason but not assigned a number (for suppression reasons) include HELLP or preeclampsia, a previous pregnancy complication, nausea/vomiting/sickness, a recent pregnancy, maternal age, and a mental health diagnosis or concern.³

Abortions by County of Residence and Occurrence

To see the number of abortions by county of residence and occurrence, see the following table:³

Of the abortions performed by counties of residence, 13% of the residents resided in the border region of the state while 80% resided in the non-border region. The state considers the border region to include the counties of Cochise, Pima, Santa Cruz, and Yuma.

2023 Guttmacher Data⁵

In 2023, Guttmacher estimated that 13,910 abortions occurred in the state. Of those 13,910 abortions, an estimated 250 were obtained by Texas women who traveled to Arizona to get an abortion. Additionally, Guttmacher estimated that 3,190 Arizona women traveled to other states to obtain abortions. Of those 3,190 abortions, 1,660 were obtained by Arizona women in California, 1,170 in Nevada, 260 in New Mexico, and 100 in Colorado.

Legislative Changes

In early November 2024, Arizonans voted yes on Proposition 139 which established a fundamental right to abortion within the state’s constitution. The amendment states that abortion is legal in the state prior to fetal viability and after to preserve the life or physical or mental health of the mother “based on the good-faith judgement of a treating health care professional.” The constitution defines fetal viability as,

“[T]he point in pregnancy when, in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.”

The vagueness of the definition of viability and exceptions to the viability limit renders the limit ineffective and allows de facto abortion up until birth for any reason. The amendment went into effect on November 25, 2024.

State Ranking

In 2024, CLI published a paper reevaluating abortion reporting across the country, with Arizona ranked as the best state in the country in terms of the completeness and ease of access of the state’s abortion data. As CLI has previously suggested, Arizona could continue to improve its reporting by ensuring that all health care providers are aware of the state requirement to report abortion complications they treat, particularly emergency rooms and other urgent care facilities. Additionally, the state could provide more details on babies who survive abortions.

1. National rates were calculated by Guttmacher Institute. Arizona’s rates were calculated by CLI using the following formula: (total number of abortions performed in Arizona ÷ 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 from CDC WONDER. 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 2020-2022 are Vintage 2022 postcensal estimates of the July 1 resident population. Estimates were produced by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics. Rates for 2023 were calculated using the Vintage 2022 postcensal estimates because 2023 population estimates have not yet been released by the CDC.
2. 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.
3. The number of abortions performed in mentioned counties could have been obtained by nonresidents and residents alike, and the inclusion of the two categories of data does not mean that Arizona residents from a county where abortions occurred necessarily got an abortion in that county (as the report doesn’t include that confirmation). The different data points are included rather to give the reader some general context about the supply and demand for abortion in the counties.
4. The number of abortions performed in hospitals was suppressed for eight hospitals in Maricopa County and one in Pima County. Because the numbers were suppressed, those counts were not included in the totals within this column.
5. The Guttmacher Institute notes that their 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 self-managed abortions or those obtained by women in pro-life states under shield laws.
6. 2011 was the first full year of reporting after Arizona’s law requiring abortions to be reported went into effect. In 2011, Arizona included abortions induced with digoxin in the nonsurgical abortion category; digoxin abortions were not included in this category in later reports and have been excluded from the 2011 drug-induced abortion total.

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