Abortion Reporting: District of Columbia (2022)

Abortion data for the District of Columbia (D.C.) is available in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) 2022 abortion surveillance report. The data published by the CDC does not include the total number of abortions obtained by D.C. residents out of the District 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 D.C. residents prescribed by licensed abortion providers outside of the District.  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 D.C. to obtain abortions and their states of residence, as well as the number of abortions obtained by D.C. women in other states. Guttmacher’s abortion estimates include the number of abortions obtained at brick-and-mortar facilities and those provided via telehealth and virtual providers in the United States.

Statistics and Changes in D.C. Abortions, 2021-2022

The report does not include information on Planned Parenthood’s D.C. abortion market share.

Abortion Totals and Trends

The most recent abortion statistics published by the District of Columbia are from 2015. However, D.C. shared more current information with the CDC to be included in its 2022 national abortion surveillance report. According to this data, there were 4,023 abortions in 2022, an increase of 4% from 2021. Drug-induced abortions decreased by 0.4% from 1,994 in 2021 to 1,987 in 2022. The CDC estimates that D.C.’s 2022 abortion rate was 22.4 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age, up 3% from a rate of 21.8 in 2021 (Fig. 2).¹

Until recently, abortion reporting in the District of Columbia was voluntary, and D.C.’s reports only contained data on abortions performed on resident women. In 2018, D.C. amended its vital statistics code to require abortion reporting and expected to begin receiving reports by late 2019. D.C. has not yet published on annual abortion report since the vital statistics code was updated.

CDC State Data Summary

All the information found in this section is from the 2022 CDC figures.

A minority (33%) of the abortions reported in D.C. were performed on D.C. residents. Sixty-seven percent were obtained by non-residents, including 42% of total D.C. abortions obtained by Maryland residents and 20% obtained by Virginia residents. Five percent of the abortions were performed on women from other states. D.C. has no gestational limits on abortion nor does Maryland.

Eleven percent of D.C. abortions were performed on girls ages 19 and younger, including 12 abortions performed on girls under the age of 15. Twenty-nine percent of the abortions were performed on 20- to 24-year-olds and 29% on women ages 25 to 29. Twenty-eight percent of the abortions were performed on women in their thirties, and 3% were performed on women aged 40 or older. The age of the mother was unknown for three abortions.

In 2022, more than half the abortions (53% or 2,123 abortions) were performed on non-Hispanic black women, 12% on non-Hispanic white women, and 11% on non-Hispanic women of other races. Seventeen percent of the abortions were performed on Hispanic women, and 7% were performed on women whose race was not reported. CLI estimates that D.C.’s black abortion rate was 32.0 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, just over five times D.C.’s white abortion rate of 6.3.

Just over half (51%) of the District’s abortions were surgical, and 49% were drug-induced. There were zero intrauterine instillation abortions and zero hysterectomy/hysterotomy abortions.

2023 Guttmacher Data²

In 2023, Guttmacher estimated that 9,100 abortions occurred in D.C. Also in 2023, an estimated 310 D.C. residents traveled to Virginia and obtained abortions. Guttmacher also estimated that 4,530 of the 9,100 abortions performed in D.C. in 2023 were on nonresidents. To see the number of abortions obtained in D.C. by women from various states, see the following table:

Breakdown of Abortion Providers in D.C.³

State Ranking

In 2024, CLI published a paper reevaluating abortion reporting across the country, with D.C. ranked at 46^th place. To further improve its reporting, D.C. could publish reports on a faster schedule. In addition, D.C. could ensure that its reporting requirements are enforced and that all abortions are reported. Due to the number of late-term abortion centers in the District, D.C. could collect and report information on complications caused by abortions, the reasons for the abortions being performed in D.C., and the breakdown of abortions by gestational age.

1. National rates were calculated by the Guttmacher Institute. D.C. rates were calculated by CLI using the following formula: (total number of abortions performed in D.C. ÷ 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 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 2020-2022 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.
2. 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 abortions obtained by women in pro-life states under shield laws in effect in pro-abortion states. This information is updated as of January 8, 2025.
3. 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/doctor’s offices included in databases like Abortion Finder and Ineedana. This information is updated as of January 8, 2025.
4. Abortion totals were taken from the CDC reports. D.C. did not report abortions performed on nonresidents in 2015 and did not report any abortion data in 2016.

Click here to view reporting from:20212020